// Ex-boss Andy Street said it would be a “tragedy” if John Lewis diluted its partnership model
// Speaking on BBC1’s Sunday with Kuenssberg, the former managing director urged the retailer to find a way to trade through the tough environment like Next and Selfridges have proven
Former John Lewis Boss Andy Street said it would be a “tragedy” if the retailer changed its partnership model.
It emerged last week that chairwoman Sharon White is exploring selling a minority stake in the firm, which would dilute the 100% employee-owned model.
Street, former managing director of John Lewis who is now West Midllands mayor told BBC1’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “It would be a tragedy because I think John Lewis goes beyond a shop.”
“You can buy the same television in other places, is the truth. John Lewis is about a way of doing business, showing the market that there was a better way almost.”
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He urged the retailer’s bosses to find a way to survive in the tough world of modern online and offline retail as other Next and Selfridges have.
“I would urge the leadership of John Lewis to think about what’s really at the heart of it, what makes it special, and hold on to that,” Street said.
The retailer swung to a £234m pre-tax loss for the year to January 28 2023 as sales across the business slipped 2% to £12.3bn.
Street, who ran John Lewis from 2007 until 2016, said the retailer should trade its way through its troubles, as it has done previously, instead of seeking external investment.
“This was ever the case in the John Lewis model; if you can’t go to the equity markets, you have to trade your way through it,” he said.
“Some of the best retailers at the moment — Next, Primark, Selfridges, all wonderfully successful businesses at the moment — are all proving that physical retail can still [trade well] and that’s really the challenge to John Lewis and Waitrose.”
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