Retail guru Mary Portas warns John Lewis it has ‘let go of the soul’ March 25, 2023 Mary Portas has sent an open letter to department store John Lewis warning that it has “let go of the soul”.
John Lewis CEO: Bailey wants you to be gloomy – and it’s working August 13, 2023 The new Chief Executive of John Lewis has given a stark warning to the Bank of England, cautioning against higher interest rates that could “tip into recession”. Nish Kankiwala was appointed as the Partnership’s first Chief Executive in March and has since been laying out his recovery plan for the struggling high street favourites John [...]
What next for Waitrose? Supermarket quits Planet Organic talks after John Lewis fiasco March 29, 2023 Waitrose has pulled out of secret talks to acquire a stake in rival health supermarket Planet Organic. The high-end supermarket, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership, ceased discussions late last week about a possible agreement, according to reports first published in Sky News, Sources told the outlet that the deal would have meant [...]
John Lewis chair says lockdown retirees should return to work to tackle economic turmoil August 9, 2022 John Lewis head Dame Sharon White has urged the government to encourage lockdown retirees back into work to avoid stagflation. The retail chief warned that ministers should address labour shortages in order to prevent the economic situation from worsening, in an interview with BBC on Tuesday morning. “There’s not a business in the UK that’s [...]
John Lewis posts £92m loss after ‘unprecedented cost inflation’ September 15, 2022 John Lewis Partnership has posted a £92m loss before tax, blaming shoppers spending less due to inflationary pressures in the first half of the year. This was versus a £69m profit compared to the same period last year, although the partnership said on Thursday it was “not unusual for us” to make a loss in [...]
‘Tragedy’ if John Lewis ownership changes, says ex-boss March 26, 2023 John Lewis changing its ownership model would be “a tragedy”, a former top boss has said. Reports last week suggested the retailer is considering ending its fully staff-owned structure, with the partnership’s chairwoman, Sharon White, exploring plans to sell a minority stake. West Midlands mayor Andy Street, John Lewis managing director until 2016, acknowledged the [...]
The Notebook: Andy Silvester on why John Lewis’s next boss would do well to take a shift on the tills October 3, 2023 Where the City’s movers and shakers get a few things off their chest. Today, it’s our editor Andy Silvester with the pen Whoever replaces White would do well to take a shift on the tills Driving alongside Lake Bala, on the edges of Snowdonia, this intrepid Londoner got a shock at the weekend: an entrance [...]
Youths ‘film shoplifting for TikTok’ as businesses call for government aid September 16, 2023 Shoplifting and abuse at independent shops are increasing due to the cost-of-living crisis and youths filming it for TikTok, forcing some businesses to close, it has been said. Muntazir Dipoti, president of the Federation of Independent Retailers (FIR), which has 10,500 members, said 850 incidents of theft or verbal abuse are recorded every day. Incidents [...]
John Lewis boss: Government must help struggling households amid cost of living crisis May 13, 2022 John Lewis chair Dame Sharon White has called on ministers to produce a support package for households struggling with the cost of living squeeze. The government should be helping families in the way it did to steer the country through the Covid pandemic, the retail boss said on ITV’s Peston programme on Wednesday evening. Boris [...]
Four challenges Sharon White must address at John Lewis January 9, 2020 Incoming John Lewis Partnership boss Sharon White will have a big job on her hands when she joins the retailer next month, as this morning’s trading update showed. The department store issued a profit warning today and made the surprise announcement that John Lewis managing director Paula Nickolds will leave the partnership in February. It [...]