Charlotte Lock, customer director at the John Lewis Partnership, has announced her departure from the retail group after nearly three years in the role.

Lock, who joined as the company's first pan-partnership customer director in February 2022, revealed on social media that she would be leaving for a role aligned with a "personal passion", though specific details of her next position were not disclosed.

During her tenure, Lock oversaw significant changes across both the John Lewis and Waitrose brands, including the revival of the retailer's famous "Never Knowingly Undersold" price promise, which had initially been retired shortly after her arrival in 2022.

A John Lewis Partnership spokesperson highlighted Lock's achievements: "Under her Customer leadership, we have grown customer numbers, our loyalty programmes, our net promoter scores and brand and customer satisfaction metrics. Charlotte led the relaunch of our JLP brand identity and John Lewis brand promise; introduced distinctive shop and online propositions; and drove the growth of our retail media business."

Her period at the retailer also saw a major shift in creative direction, with the end of a 14-year partnership with advertising agency Adam&eveDDB and the beginning of a new relationship with Saatchi & Saatchi. The change proved successful, with the retailer's most recent Christmas advertisement, "The Gifting Hour", achieving its highest effectiveness rating since 2019.

Lock previously reflected on the importance of physical retail in the company's strategy, stating: "Our shops are the beating heart of our brand and our customers love the ritual of Christmas shopping there – so we wanted to give the store a starring role in our ad for the first time."

Before joining John Lewis, Lock served as director of data, loyalty and digital products at the Co-op, following almost nine years at the BBC, where she concluded her tenure as director for BBC Sport's youth strategy.

The John Lewis Partnership has not yet announced who will take over leadership of the marketing function following Lock's departure.

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