// John Lewis Partnership boss Sharon White has pledged to get the business back to “sustainable” profit before 2026
// White said staff bonuses would only return “when affordable”
John Lewis Partnership chairman Sharon White has pledged to return the retailer to profit before 2026, adding that staff bonuses would only return “when affordable”.
Following three years of losses, White’s five-year plan, kicked off back in 2021, would “get the partnership back to sustainable profit”.
While the department store retailer is confident it expects to make a profit before then, the outlook for its famous annual bonus at its department stores and Waitrose supermarkets remained unclear.
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The bonus was scrapped last year for only the second time since 1953 amid losses of £234m.
In a speech to members of the Employee Ownership Association yesterday, White said it would be “paid when affordable”.
On the retailer’s recovery plan, she added it would create “a broadly based business with brilliant retail at the core, built on excellent customer service, quality and ethics”.
A bonus has always depended on making a sufficient profit, and there was no update at present, the Partnership said.
White’s role was brought into question last month when representatives on the employee-owned partnership council voted against her performance over the past year.
But she won a stay of execution as the council backed her to continue.
As well as concern over profits, White’s plans to bring in external investment have sparked fears over its staff ownership structure.
Yesterday she explained the plan could require external investment but stressed its employee model was not going anywhere, saying: “Employee-ownership is a given.”
“What makes us special is not incidental to being a partnership. It’s because we’re a partnership.”
Pointing to link-ups with Ocado, she said: “We have for many years found creative ways to partner with other companies using some of their capital and expertise to provide new services and enter new markets.
“The tragedy would be to walk past what needs to be done to ensure the Partnership has the fuel it needs to invest, transform and grow.
If the Partnership could not fund all of the plan by itself, the board could look at whether external investment was needed.
Earlier in May, White defended her investment strategy ahead of a vote of confidence that she narrowly won.
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