John Lewis boss Peter Ruis has unveiled plans to increase the amount of staff working on the shop floor in a bid to boost the fortunes of the retailer.
Ruis is renegotiating contracts with fashion brands so they can pay the department store a lower rate of commission in exchange for getting more employees to work on their concessions, The Sunday Times reported, in a bid to replicate the sales culture of John Lewis’ beauty halls across the rest of the store.
The exec, who was appointed as John Lewis boss in January, is thought to believe levels of staff have been scaled back too much across the shop floor.
Related Story
Research from John Lewis indicated that more workers could increase sales in concessions by a double-digit percentage, leading to benefits for both the retailers and suppliers.
While fashion brands have widely backed the department store’s plans, bosses of multiple suppliers told The Sunday Times their commission rates would need to drop in order for them to be able to support it.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
