Why Dame Sharon White failed at John Lewis and what her successor needs to do
The current chair of John Lewis was always a risky appointment, Simon Neville writes, but she made mistakes that her successor would do well to learn from as they seek to restore the retailer to relevance
Dame Sharon White’s tenure at the John Lewis Partnership was always going to be a hospital pass.
But it was clear early on that she was way out of her depth trying to get to grips with a business that was still living on past glories.
When White arrived, the business was finding its feet after the departures a few years earlier of its two most charismatic leaders – Andy Street, boss of John Lewis, now West Midlands Mayor, and Mark Price at Waitrose, who went on to become a Government minister. Both showed good salesmanship, even if the foundations were starting to crumble, and the high-end stores retained a loyal following.
However, the speed at which customers were heading elsewhere – Dunelm, Ikea, Amazon – meant John Lewis was struggling to remain relevant.
I still don’t know what makes it relevant but I’m not sure becoming a residential landlord, floating the idea of sale-and-leasebacks for Waitrose stores or scrapping your flagship price promise – all done on White’s watch – will achieve it. I have followed the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) for several years up close and the most striking part is of a retailer that believes it has an ordained right to exist.
White embodied this mantra of feeling JLP was above everyone else, opting early on in her tenure to show short shift towards the media, with a regal “never complain, never explain” approach.
As Covid hit and forced all stores to shut, I was leaked information that it was very unlikely all John Lewis stores would reopen once lockdown restrictions were eased, whilst at Sky News Mark Kleinman had revealed the name of the new boss of Waitrose.
In an early sign of her frustrations with the media, she recorded a video message to senior staff discussing her anger at leaks to me and Sky News. This video was, naturally, leaked and White’s attempts at dealing with leaks never went away.
In the end, her own departure was leaked to Simon Jack at the BBC just minutes after it was announced to senior managers, showing that trust at the top had completely broken down.
It will be interesting to see whether the internal unease will see White’s replacement cool on some of the fundamental changes introduced – many attribute the beginning of the end when she suggested raising outside capital and potentially altering the business structure. Or whether the new broom will continue at pace to raise enough funds to become profitable again and maybe even relevant. Either way, they must take JLP down from its temple of self-righteousness, thinking collapse is for others because of the retailer’s place in the hearts of the nation.
Try telling that to Debenhams, BHS, Woolworths or Topshop.
I am not saying JLP is heading towards the end but one thing all those collapsed retailers have in common is their failure to keep up with the sectors’ endless evolution. Why should JLP assume its customers can remain loyal? What genuinely makes them unique? And can customers feel confident that if they do spend a premium, will John Lewis’s aftercare be any better than cheaper rivals?
Unless White’s successor can answer those questions, then JLP remains on shaky ground.
Simon Neville is Media Strategy and Content Director at SEC Newgate, he is formerly City Editor at Press Association