When the John Lewis Partnership appointed Dame Sharon White as its sixth chair in 2019, it acknowledged that the former Ofcom chief and civil Servant was not a “traditional retail choice.”
But, as outgoing chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield argued, “These are not ordinary retail times and the partnership is not an ordinary company.”
Instead, she was there as an “inspirational figure.” a leader with the personal and professional skills that ensure the partnership continues to innovate and change.”
Today, as John Lewis appoints its seventh chairman, it is clear that innovation and change are no longer high on the agenda . .
The partnership turned to Jason Tarry, a grocery veteran with more than 30 years' experience at Tesco, to lead its operations.
Jason Tarry will become chairman of the John Lewis Partnership in September. Photo: Chris Radburn/Reuters
Rita Clifton, deputy chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said he was a good fit “as the partnership moves into the next phase of its modernization, focused on our core retail business as well as future growth.”
Terry's appointment follows the hiring of a number of other retail veterans last year, a sign that John Lewis is shifting its focus away from new ideas such as housing and financial services and back to its core business: selling things.
“He is a very high-class man – the British king of retail,” Shore Capital analyst Clive Black says of Tarry.
The 56-year-old has been head of Tesco UK and Ireland for the past six years, and before that he is said to have played a central role in the supermarket's turnaround following an accounting scandal in 2014.
Terry was appointed head of commercial department after discovering a £263 million black hole in the supermarket's accounts.
“Jason played a central role in [the restructuring project] and could have become [former Tesco chief executive] Key assistant to Dave Lewis,” says one senior food and beverage industry executive.
“Dave Lewis set the context for this, but Jason was the guy who restored the trust and relationships with all of Tesco's key suppliers.”
Terry, originally from Tonbridge, Kent, was part of the team that helped Tesco come back position as the UK's largest supermarket. Its market share has grown from 9.7% in 1990 to 27% today.
He was a key player in Tesco's “Project Reboot” in the second half of the last decade, when supermarkets ruthlessly cut out-of-stock products to attract more customers to their stores.
Many well-known brands disappeared from shelves, including including, for a time, about 30 brands sold in a row to Heineken at inflated prices.
Waitrose recently used a similar strategy, reducing the range of products available on its shelves. remove “duplication”. Last year The Telegraph reported that its yoghurt range had been cut by 10%.
Terry, a fanatical Arsenal fan and season ticket holder, is said to have always respected Waitrose as a rival.
The food and drink executive says: “He liked the mix of customers, the focus on quality and the location of the regional stores. I think he will react to this with some excitement.”
However, the boss adds: “The problem with Waitrose is that it is much smaller. The same scenario that Tesco traditionally had, which was very high volume and scale, is not available to Waitrose. He will have to find something else.”
Terry is one of several newcomers to the John Lewis management team, all of whom have experience in the retail and consumer goods sectors.
In The partnership hired turnaround expert Nish Kankiwala as its first chief executive in March 2023, and in January hired graduate Peter Ruiz, a former Jigsaw boss, to head up the department store business.
A renewed leadership team will follow. It's been a tough few years for the partnership, which also owns Waitrose. In 2020, John Lewis scrapped its staff annual bonus for the first time since the 1950s and suffered several years of losses.
There are signs the business is now turning a corner after returning to profit in 2023. But there are still challenges ahead, with the partnership warning that up to 11,000 jobs were at risk of cuts and Dame Sharon pushing back the deadline for her reinstatement. plan for two years.
Those who have worked with Tarry say he has what it takes to complete the change. He has a “real ability to cut through the noise and focus the business on what matters most to customers,” says a former colleague.
Customers are not the only group of John Lewis customers: the partnership accounts for 76,000 co-owners employees who have a say in the direction of the business. This makes the work of business management not only operational, but also political.
And that's where those who know Tarry say he has an edge.
He's “very good at the job.” floor and can communicate with people at all levels,” says one executive.
“Jason is such a great guy,” says Tim Mason, former deputy chief executive of Tesco and now head of loyalty card company Eagle Eye. “He has a very high level of emotional intelligence and you can see this in the fact that he has worked with all the different generations of Tesco executives and achieved the same level of success.”
Richard Brasher, former UK Tesco boss at one point said of him: “I can't find anyone who has a bad word to say against you, but you seem to be getting things done.”
Tarry joined Tesco after graduating in 1990 and during his long career at the supermarket he worked in various parts of the company, including the bakery department, the clothing department and the trading business in Central Europe and Turkey.
“Unusual for someone. who has achieved the same level of seniority that he achieved at Tesco, his work experience is actually in non-food and international business,” says Mason. “He was closely involved with Tesco's clothing business early in his career.”
This experience will be crucial for John Lewis as it seeks to revive sales at its fashion and retail department stores. home has lagged in recent years.
Perhaps the biggest signal about Terry's career was the reaction of shares of Marks & Spencer, JLP's main competitor. The retailer's shares fell about 2% on news of his appointment amid expectations of tougher competition in the coming years.
Terry said Monday he plans to “focus on being a great retailer for customers and investing in growth.” Dame Sharon said she was confident he would take the business “from strength to strength”.
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