John Lewis commercial director Kathleen Mitchell has left the business after three years.
Mitchell, who joined the retailer back in 2021, said on Linkedin: “After an incredible journey at John Lewis, I’ve decided to embark on a new chapter.
“I took some time at the start of the year to recharge with my family and reflect on the wonderful experiences and colleagues I’ve had.
“We made big moves, delivered results, innovated and positioned the business for the future. Huge heartfelt thanks to the outstanding commercial team and wishing every success to the iconic Partnership. Excited to share more about what’s next soon.”
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Prior to John Lewis, Mitchell was managing director and brand director at Accessorize. She has also held various senior roles at jewellery brand Stella & Dot and cosmetics giant L’Oréal.
Her departure comes after the John Lewis Partnership said it had fallen short of its profit targets in the all-important golden quarter as both its brands “missed their sales targets”.
The Waitrose owner cited “lower consumer confidence and weaker than expected market confidence” for the softer sales in the month to 21 December, as well as the fact that key trading days fell outside this period.
Meanwhile earlier today (6 February), M&S unveiled a raft of changes to its leadership team as part of its ongoing transformation of its clothing, home and beauty division.
Current MD of the retailer’s clothing & home arm Richard Price will be stepping down after a handover period at the end of April.
Price will be succeeded by former CEO of Boohoo Group John Lyttle, who joins the high street retailer on 3 March.
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