Four decades after opening first shop, John Lewis returns

Entrepreneur spends 40th anniversary in the town where it all began

FORTY years after John Lewis began his empire in a one-man Hungerford workshop, he has returned to the town to celebrate the anniversary with an old friend.

Mr Lewis, who now owns John Lewis of Hungerford (JLH) kitchen and furniture stores nationwide, including one in London's prestigious Regent Street, started off in a workshop in Hungerford in 1972.

On Friday, January 6 - four decades later to the day - he and local builder Bryan Geater celebrated with lunch in The Three Swans.

Mr Lewis said: “I can remember that first day so clearly - it was cold, rainy and I was nervous. I had given up a good job with the Ministry of Agriculture and come to Hungerford, where I did not know anyone, to start my one-man business.

“I was passionate about design, furniture, woodwork, retailing and business and this was an opportunity to immerse myself in everything. I had found a tiny derelict building to rent from a man called David Roberts for £2.50 a week but my greatest fear was that it would collapse before I finished getting it ready.”

He added: “Initially I lived in a small caravan but when it got so cold that during the night my hair froze to the side, a kind man called Paul Good invited me to stay with him and his family in Kintbury.

“Paul had just opened his ironmongery store in Hungerford and I was in there most days buying screws, hinges, tools and a whole host of other things I needed. So many people in Hungerford were kind to me and gave me such a warm welcome that I began to feel at home very quickly. My building was very small and storage space was limited so I was delighted when Peter and David Liddiard offered me some space to store timber in one of their farm buildings.”

Mr Lewis went on: “I have experienced such fantastic times whilst developing my business. Times such as when Richard Liberty asked me if I would open a JLH shop in their famous store in Regent Street and when (former Prime Minister) Sir Edward Heath asked me to make the kitchen for his beautiful house in the Cathedral Close in Salisbury.

“On the other hand I have known horrendous times especially in the nineties when I had to reduce my staff from 85 down to twelve and close factories and showrooms to try to survive.”