Dame Sharon told staff to prepare for «quite big» changes after a £234m loss last year
John Lewis will return to profit This year, its chairman Dame Sharon White said the retailer was preparing to cut up to 11,000 jobs as part of a radical turnaround plan.
Dame Sharon told staff the partnership, which also owns Waitrose, would be «more than breakeven» after it fell to a loss of £234 million last year.
In a video message, Dame Sharon told staff to prepare for «some pretty big and some pretty bold changes.»
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It comes just days after it emerged John Lewis was considering cutting its 76,000-strong workforce by at least 10%, or 11,000 people, over the next five years. He is also halving employee severance pay, saying he needs to make it more affordable.
Dame Sharon said: “There have been so many changes over the last year. But these efforts are starting to show in our business performance, we are converting the majority of our sales into returns to partners and we will achieve more than breakeven this year, which is a great start as we return to sustainable profitability for the business.
A return to profitability would be a major boost for John Lewis after it posted three consecutive years of losses and warned that recovery had been delayed.
In September, Dame Sharon said that John Lewis will not return to sustainable profits until the 2027/28 financial year.
Nish Kankiwala, chief executive of the John Lewis Partnership, also said figures were improving at the time but «customers feel disadvantaged». «It is therefore difficult to make more specific recommendations on figures,» he added.
John Lewis is currently in the process of removing £900 million of costs from the business.
Dame Sharon and Mr. Kankiwala said in a memo sent to staff on Monday that layoffs would be a last resort, adding that the partnership already has to replace 30,000 departing workers each year.
They added: «We will make changes through natural turnover wherever possible.»
Dame Sharon made the announcement as she revealed wider plans to turn around John Lewis.
All Waitrose supermarket staff will receive customer service training for the first time in a bid to reverse falling sales. Previously, the supermarket only offered special training to certain employees.
It followed criticism from shoppers over the deteriorating quality of customer service at supermarkets, which led to more people switching to rival supermarket Marks & Spencer. John Lewis admitted in documents this week that the company had «lost ground on customer sentiment».
John Lewis said it would also invest in faster in-store Wi-Fi and better fridges for its Waitrose supermarkets.
Mr Kankiwala said: «We have to fix the fundamentals of our business… essentially we have to get our stores looking great again.»
He said the shake-up was meant to create a «sustainable partnership». , which remains independent.»
Mr Kankiwala said the updated plan would «double» retail trade, signaling a departure from Ms Sharon's earlier plans to diversify into financial services and home rentals.
< p>Dame Sharon is due to step down as chairman of John Lewis at the end of her five-year term next year.John Lewis said the company would also simplify its operating model and improve worker productivity.< /p>
Dame Sharon and Mr Kankiwala said: “The partnership plan is working and our financial performance is improving… Unfortunately, this means reducing the number of partners we need in our business.”
> “The easiest thing would be to avoid difficult decisions. But that would be wrong.”
John Lewis is due to publish its annual results on March 14.
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