In an attempt to boost sales at the British department store John Lewis, Peter Ruis, the company’s new boss, has allegedly stated that he intends to expand the number of employees working on the shop floor.
It is believed that Ruis is renegotiating agreements with clothing companies in an effort to obtain reduced commission rates in exchange for hiring additional staff for their stores.
In addition to responding to studies conducted by John Lewis himself, which showed that hiring more staff might result in a double-digit percentage boost in sales, the move attempts to mimic the more abundant beauty halls found in his stores.
Consequently, this would undo previous attempts to reduce the number of workers on the shop floor—a move that Ruis is rumoured to have aggressively opposed since taking over the retail role earlier this year.
Ruis was given the responsibility of steering the business into its next stage of change when he joined, with a strategy that has been in place since early 2022.
By doing this, the firm hopes to turn a profit of £ 400 million by the extended deadline of 2027/28. President Nish Kankiwala recently announced the concept of “one retail mindset,” which will be the centre of this effort starting in late 2023.
