John Lewis will restructure its buying and merchandising teams as part of its transformation programme led by CEO Peter Ruis.
Changes at the retailer will include the addition of 48 new roles, though consultations about the future of 20 other positions are underway, Retail Week reported.
The business is looking to re-establish individual buying and merchandising leadership positions across its fashion and home departments.
A John Lewis spokesperson told the title: “As we look to turbocharge our business and offer the best possible products to customers, we’ve proposed some changes to our buying and merchandising teams including the creation of nearly 50 new roles.”
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The changes follow Peter Ruis’s return to the company as executive director at the start of the year. In March, he unveiled plans to enhance the department store’s fashion offerings and focus on improving profit margins.
He said: “We continue to trade in what is definitely a dynamic and volatile market with significant cost pressures.
“Customers are still cautious about discretionary spend, and in particular within home and around our big ticket items. But the transformation plan is showing the progress and I’m really confident we can grow this year from this more solid base.”
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