John Lewis & Partners

What began as a London drapery has evolved into one of the UK's largest and arguably most diversified retailer. John Lewis Partnership (JLP) operates 28 John Lewis department stores, four at home shops, some 243 Waitrose supermarkets and convenience stores, primarily in the UK, but also abroad, and an online and catalog shopping business, John Lewis Direct. Among its business-to-business deals, John Lewis Direct delivers Waitrose products through Internet grocer Ocado. JLP's activities include subsidiaries that make wooden furniture and bedding, and a 4,000-acre Leckford Estate in Hampshire that grows produce and supplies milk, poultry, and eggs for sale at Waitrose. The company and its staff co-own JLP.