The John Lewis Partnership has said its five-year transformation plan launched in 2020 will take two years longer than planned as it posted another half-year loss.
Nevertheless, for the six months ending on 29th July, the firm, which owns the department store brand and the supermarket division of Waitrose, saw pre-tax losses decrease by 41 per cent to £ 59 million.
JLP claimed that “inflationary pressures” meant the “Partnership Plan” it introduced in 2020—with a target of a £ 400 million profit by 2025–2026—would now take until 2027–2028. It also stated that spending on strategy and consumers would “take precedence” over staff members’ annual bonuses.
The organisation’s chairwoman, Dame Sharon White, stated that as the institution works to improve its finances, employees would need to adopt a “mindset of owners.”
“Our partners are the centre of the partnership and can hopefully see that right decisions are being made,” she said.
After suffering a substantial annual deficit in the prior fiscal year, the employee-owned firm announced at the beginning of this year that it would not give bonuses to employees for just the second time since 1953.
When questioned if the most recent results suggested that the company will experience another yearly loss, White emphasised that the company’s performance “picks up” more significantly throughout the second half of the year.
The company reported stronger sales in cosmetics and fashion but lower demand for “technology and big ticket home items” as it reported a 2 per cent increase in overall sales to £ 5.8 billion.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
