Sharon White: Embattled John Lewis chair survives confidence vote – just about May 10, 2023 John Lewis chair Sharon White will remain chief of the business after winning a vote of confidence on her future leadership, but remains under considerable pressure with partners voting against her performance over the last year. White secured one victory at a John Lewis Partnership meeting held on Wednesday, with a majority of partners saying [...]
UK retail giant set to ditch central London office space amid job losses May 1, 2023 John Lewis is looking to cut its office space by over 50 per cent after the company seeks to drastically cut costs benefiting from a loose hybrid working approach. The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, first announced its plans to move offices last year, waiting until the lease of its current Victoria HQ [...]
John Lewis boss vows to keep employee-owned retailer ‘unique’ April 26, 2023 Dame Sharon White has vowed to preserve what makes the John Lewis Partnership “unique,” as the chief of the struggling retail chain outlines how the company plans to navigate the cost of living crisis and retain its customer base. Dame Sharon told The Telegraph retailers were continuing to see the “effects of the pandemic” and [...]
Why is John Lewis overhauling its loyalty card scheme? April 25, 2023 John Lewis and Waitrose are both preparing to launch new loyalty card schemes as the partnership looks to turn around the business. The John Lewis Partnership, which owns the department store and upmarket grocery store, has drafted in Dunnhumby, the company which helped establish Tesco’s clubcard scheme in the 1990s and, also, promotions business Eagle [...]
CBI exodus: Which firms have quit or suspended their relationship with the lobby group? April 21, 2023 A slew of top firms have quit or suspended engagement with the CBI today after the lobby group was rocked by new allegations of sexual abuse.
John Lewis wins sneezing dragon High Court battle after judge dismisses author’s claim April 3, 2023 John Lewis has been found not to have infringed the copyright of a children’s author who claimed it had copied one of her designs in its Christmas advertisement. Fay Evans, 49, from Macclesfield, Cheshire claimed the department store had copied parts of her book ‘Fred The Fire-Sneezing Dragon’ in its ‘Excitable Edgar’ Christmas advert which [...]
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 [...]
‘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 [...]
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”.
Explainer: Why Waitrose is no longer the jewel in the John Lewis crown and how the group’s future may lie in property, not produce March 17, 2023 Times are tough for John Lewis as chair Sharon White admitted when the high street stalwart this week announced it had made a £234m loss in 2022. The sum was worse than market expectations and marked the second year the upmarket retailer had gone into the red. In a sympathetic letter addressed to the company’s [...]