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John lewis: working closer with Waitrose

John Lewis Partnership is looking for an agency for its media business as it aligns itself more closely with supermarket sister chain Waitrose.

Full-service agency Burkitt DDB currently runs the John Lewis business, which spends in the region of £2m on advertising, while BrandConnection holds the Waitrose account and Ocado, its online delivery service, worth £8m.

Waitrose is overhauling its branding to highlight the association between itself and John Lewis and the two are working together on a recently launched retail concept - Waitrose Food and Home - which combines upmarket food retail with home products from John Lewis.

It has been speculated that the review of John Lewis's business will spark a wider review incorporating the Waitrose account. 

Shifting its entire business into one agency would create cost efficiencies for John Lewis, which reported a £10m dip in pre-tax profits in its most recent financial results.