// John Lewis chair Sharon White narrowly survives confidence vote
// The council said it did not have confidence in the Partnership’s performance but backed her future strategy
John Lewis chair Sharon White has suffered a major blow after narrowly winning support from staff in a confidence vote on Wednesday.
The council, made up of more than 60 partners, said it did not have confidence in the Partnership’s performance under White’s leadership but backed her future strategy.
The vote comes amid concerns of the Partnership’s future after its annual losses ballooned to £234m and reports that White was looking to sell a minority stake in the business to raise funds.
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Speaking at a biannual staff meeting at the company’s Odney Club holiday retreat in Berkshire, White vowed that the retailer will “always be employee-owned” and said it would emerge stronger.
President of the council Chris Earnshaw said: “The council voted in support of the chairman to progress the partnership in relation to its purpose, principles and rules.
“The council did not support last year’s performance, in which we reported a full year loss and no partner bonus.”
He added the meeting was “central to how we exercise our democratic principles and ownership of the business”.
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