"I'm like a graceful swan, gliding along, when underneath my legs are kicking like mad," he says, laughing. The reason Waitrose and John Lewis excel is "all to do with the values of partnership -- we treat our customers, our suppliers, our fellow partners, the communities which we serve, well," he says. "We care about doing the right thing by each other. There's an African proverb that says 'If you want to travel fast, travel alone; if you want to go far, travel together.'" Waitrose, Links of London The Man On The Moon Charm insists, is not too expensive. "People confuse cheapness with value. Is it cheaper to buy X in Y supermarket than in Waitrose -- it's like saying Ford is cheaper than Bentley. It depends on whether you get value for money. We give people outstanding value for money with our Essentials Waitrose range, which has Waitrose quality and a good price, and our Waitrose Price Match." It's true, he says, that "because of what we sell we do attract an upmarket clientele. But you can buy a loaf of bread for 75p and a pint of milk for 45p. Where we're different is that you can also buy a loaf of bread for UKpound10 and a bottle of wine for UKpound100". That twin-track also lies behind Heston and Delia. "Foodies flock to Heston and Delia appeals more to everyday cooks." What about Ocado? It doesn't make sense to run Waitrose on the web alongside Ocado. "No, Ocado is a warehouse Links of London Bangles covering the whole country, ours is store-based. Even now we only have 68 within the M25. Waitrose is about people wanting our products, so Ocado enables us to become a FMCG company as well as a retailer. The two are complementary. "I want to make sure everyone has access to our products. You can drive, do the shopping and drive home. Or pop-in, make your choices and have them delivered. Or we have 'click and collect' -- you order online at work and pick up the goods from your nearest store on your way home. Or there's full online. We want to make it as convenient for you as you want." To think he wanted to be a pro golfer (he was one handicap) as a boy but went to university instead to study archaeology. "I left in 1982. My father had a wholesale food retail business and he told me to go to John Lewis or Marks & Spencer because they were Links of London Duck Charm best. They both offered me jobs as a graduate trainee. But my mate joined M&S," he grins. "I went to John Lewis." Western Michigan Christian may have lost a big chunk of its productivity from last season's Class D state championship team, but the Warriors still possess an aura of intimidation.
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