John Lewis Partnership has hailed the success of its transformation plan after the retail giant revealed losses nearly halved over the last year. 

The Waitrose and iconic department store owner,which is owned by its 74,000 employees,said its pre-tax losses slumped by £27million to £29million in the six months ending 27 July.

John Lewis is undergoing a major turnaround plans,which aims to save £900million over the five years to 2026,partly through redundancies and not replacing vacant positions.

Better fit: John Lewis Partnership,reported its pre-tax losses slumped by £27million to £29million in the six months ending 27 July

It claimed to be on track to reach this target,having achieved £500million in savings since January 2021,including £78million in the most recent half-year period.

At the same time,John Lewis is investing millions to simplify its operations,including technology upgrades like digital headsets,and refurbishing or launching new Waitrose stores.

The London-based group said the investment was delivering greater efficiency and helping to boost its operating profit margin by 1.1 percentage points while also attracting more footfall.

RELATED ARTICLES

Previous 1 Next

Waitrose to spend £1bn investing in its estate with opening...

John Lewis gets go ahead to be landlord by building hundreds...

Middle class shoppers flock back to Waitrose as  supermarket...

John Lewis takes aim at M&S in fashion fightback as...

Share this article

Share

Its total customer base increased by around 500,000 to 23.1 million,with Waitrose achieving its tenth consecutive quarter of growth and gaining 300,000 more shoppers over the six-month period.

Waitrose's adjusted operating profits jumped by £75million,offsetting a £24million drop at the John Lewis business caused by weaker sales and investment towards improving customer service.

John Lewis's turnover slipped by 3 per cent to £2billion,which it blamed on lower demand for 'big ticket' homeware items and fashion sales being affected by poor weather and the 'well-documented squeeze' on incomes.

The business anticipates stronger profit growth in the second half of the financial year,when it traditionally makes most of its earnings.

Though it acknowledged an 'uncertain' consumer backdrop,John Lewis is 'confident' of full-year profits before exceptional items being 'significantly above' the £45million it made last year.

Nish Kankiwala,chief executive of John Lewis Partnership,said: 'These results confirm that our transformation plan is working and we expect profits to grow significantly for the full year,a marked improvement from where we were two years ago.

'While we have much more to do,we're well set up for a positive peak trading period and on target to significantly improve our performance for the full year.'

John Lewis's trading update comes three days after the retailer brought back its 'never knowingly undersold' slogan following a two-year absence.

Under the pledge,which was first introduced in 1925,the chain vowed to refund customers within 28 days of buying a product if that same item could be purchased elsewhere for a lower price.

It was abandoned in 2022 amid worsening inflationary pressures in the UK and hefty competition from online giants like Amazon.

DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Easy investing and ready-made portfolios

Learn More

Learn More

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free fund dealing and investment ideas

Learn More

Learn More

interactive investor

interactive investor

Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month

Learn More

Learn More

Saxo

Saxo

Get £200 back in trading fees

Learn More

Learn More

Trading 212

Trading 212

Free dealing and no account fee

Learn More

Learn More

Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team,as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.

Compare the best investing account for you

Disclaimer: This article is reproduced from other media. The purpose of reprinting is to convey more information. It does not mean that this website agrees with its views and is responsible for its authenticity, and does not bear any legal responsibility. All resources on this site are collected on the Internet. The purpose of sharing is for everyone's learning and reference only. If there is copyright or intellectual property infringement, please leave us a message.
©copyright 2009-2020 Plastics Daily      Contact Us   SiteMap