Quality, comfort, a very pleasant way to while away an afternoon; these are the common feelings that are conjured up when thinking about John Lewis, the high street stalwart that for most of the 20th century stood for a higher class of shop, shopper and shopkeeper. It was where prospective brides would place their wedding lists, where expectant mothers would buy their baby’s pram and where entire new homes could be kitted out in one fell swoop from toaster to mattress topper.