What has gone wrong at John Lewis and Waitrose – and can they survive?
Almost a quarter of staff representatives voted against John Lewis boss Sharon White in a crucial confidence vote this week, it has emerged, raising questions about her plan to return the owner of 34 department stores and the Waitrose supermarket chain to profitability.
Details of the vote count, published on the John Lewis Partnership website on Friday night, revealed a significant rebellion at the employee-owned business. Of the 55 members of the staff council who voted, 24% were against the former civil servant continuing to lead the business, while 92% said they did not support her performance over the past year.The rebellion came after a £243m loss last year that left staff without a bonus. White said she had decided against short-term fixes, but what options does she have to turn the high street favourite’s fortunes around?
Profits at the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) had been declining for several years before its recent slump into the red. Its department stores have struggled to adapt to the switch to online shopping, while the cost of running its large high-street outlets has surged.
The group’s Waitrose supermarkets had been doing well until the last couple of years, when they became squeezed in a pincer movement between heavy price competition from below from the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl, and a resurgent Marks & Spencer at the upper end of the market.
M&S has grabbed the initiative on lowering the price of essentials such as butter and milk, while also broadening its appeal with investment in more exciting shops and snapping up Waitrose’s spot with the online specialist Ocado.
John Lewis has shut 16 loss-making department stores, trimmed back its supermarket estate and made big efforts to reduce
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