John Lewis - Never Knowingly Having Retail Experience.

[spunko]

Don't celebrate too loudly, she'll probably be appointed to the top job in another company as that's how these things work. Or failing that, become a Labour peer.

[spygirl]

I hope the first thing he does is sack all the dopey middle age women who stand gossiping rather than filling the shelves.

[sancho panza]

3 hours ago, spunko said:

Don't celebrate too loudly, she'll probably be appointed to the top job in another company as that's how these things work. Or failing that, become a Labour peer.

Hosue of Lords then cabinet position I should think.Look at the wonderful job Cameron is doing.

Maybe some sort of role overseeing the regeneration of either the power network or the inner cities.

Just some ideas.

[sancho panza]

 

 

Edited April 9 by sancho panza

[sancho panza]

Sharon White getting a hard tiem,but in all honesty,I think their model is broken.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12587793/Where-did-wrong-John-Lewis-Britains-favourite-High-Street-giant-hired-boss-NO-retail-experience-disastrous-reign-saw-stores-shuttered-staff-bonuses-axed-234m-losses-decline-famed-customer-service.html

Retail analysts concede that the twin challenges of Covid and the cost of living crisis mean anyone would have struggled to lead John Lewis in recent years. 

Yet today they insisted Dame Sharon's leadership was marked by several notable failures – with one arguing she had always been the 'wrong woman for the job'. 

Her appointment in 2020 certainly raised eyebrows. 

While an impressive career in politics and business had left her with a star-studded CV, industry watches pointed to her lack of any retail experience. 

The Cambridge-educated economist joined John Lewis from Ofcom, where she was chief executive from 2015 to 2019. 

Before that she had worked at the World Bank and in Downing Street as an adviser to Sir Tony Blair. 

From 2013 to 2015 she served as the second permanent secretary to the Treasury – the first black woman to do so. 

She also served as a non-executive director at Barratt Developments for five years until June. 

Dame Sharon took her role at John Lewis just before the start of the Covid pandemic, which compounded the shift away from physical retailing that it had long struggled to adapt to. 

A £635million loss six-month loss recorded in September 2020 meant It was a time for difficult decisions, yet her move to axe the staff bonus for the first time since 1953 still rankled with employees. 

The bonus was paused again this year after a £78million loss for the year to January 28. Store closures further sapped morale, with John Lewis ending the pandemic with 34 branches – down from 50 before.

Shoppers began to feel the impact of cost-cutting at the High Street giant. 

Its 'never knowingly undersold' pledge had become iconic, yet in 2020 there were whispers it was set to be axed – as indeed it was in 2022.  

Waitrose dumped its loyalty card benefits and ditched its servings of free coffee and newspapers in 2020, although it eventually brought back the hot drinks offer. 

Complaints have also been raised about 'skeleton staff' on shop floors and a 'poor choice' of products on offer. 

Customer service was a fundamental quality that often set John Lewis apart from its rivals.

Another factor is its status as the UK's largest employee owned business – with 80,000 partners sharing the profits from its retailing operations. 

Yet earlier this year Dame Sharon mulled plans to sell some of its shares to outside investors – a move critics said would kill off the 'spirit' of the retailer's partnership model.

Public opponents of the plan included West Midlands mayor Andy Street – himself a former boss of John Lewis – who said it would be a 'tragedy'. 

Dame Sharon saw off a major employee revolt, but was left looking significantly weakened.  

John Lewis has been criticised for 'distracting' itself by exploring other income streams outside retail – such as plans to become a major buy to let landlord. 

Plans for two developments in Ealing and Bromley are facing a backlash from local 'Stop the Towers' protesters. 

One site in Ealing could see 428 new homes across four tower blocks by a Waitrose supermarket.

Dame Sharon's three-year tenure is the shortest in the partnership's 94-year history, with all previous chairmen serving between 13 and 26 years.

Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData, argued she had always been the wrong person for the job. 

'As smart as Sharon White is, she was the wrong person to chair JLP,' he said. 'She didn't cause all of the issues the company faces, but she's also done much damage.

'Her ill-advised, and now backtracked on, view that outside equity might be brought in, hurt the morale of partners and showed a lack of understanding of what makes JLP special.

'Her lack of retail experience and her civil service background have, quite bluntly, not served the company well. The next chairman of JLP needs to have both the qualities she lacked.'     

Jonathan De Mello, founder of JDM Retail, also argued the problems John Lewis faced were 'of their own making' .

'A lack of direction at Waitrose, mooted changes to their unique partnership model, and an aspiration to become a property developer to name a few — and ultimately Dame Sharon is responsible for these,' he told City AM. 

'The business very much can turn things around, which — sadly for Dame Sharon — will mean scrapping a number of the ideas she and her team have been trying to enact over the past few years.'

Britain has lost 83 per cent of department stores since the collapse of BHS in 2016. 

In addition to this challenge to its business model, John Lewis is also facing increasing competition from M&S, which has stealthily been gaining ground on its rival.

M&S is now pushing to sell more high street brands on top of its own products as it tries to lure customers away. 

[Rare Bear]

On 08/04/2024 at 18:52, spunko said:

Don't celebrate too loudly, she'll probably be appointed to the top job in another company as that's how these things work. Or failing that, become a Labour peer.

Why not both?

[sancho panza]

Intersting timing as new CHair has been announced

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2024/04/john-lewis-finance-boss-quits/

John Lewis Partnership finance boss Bérangère Michel resigns

John Lewis executive finance director Bérangère Michel has resigned from the Partnership after 16 years.

Michel will step down from her post in the autumn after deciding “to pursue her future career options outside of the partnership”.

Her departure is the first major change to John Lewis Partnership’s executive team since former Tesco boss Jason Tarry was named as chair Dame Sharon White’s successor.

Michel joined the business in 2008 as its head of financial strategy and has held various senior leadership positions across retail, supply chain and customer operations in both John Lewis and Waitrose before being appointed as executive director for finance at the start of 2021.

[sancho panza]

They're going to really miss that FD

 

https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2024/02/john-lewis-sale-waitrose/

John Lewis Partnership has agreed to a £125m deal to sell 11 of its Waitrose stores to investment firm M&G.

The business will leaseback the supermarkets, which are predominantly located in the south of England, on 20-year inflation-linked contracts.

The deal comes as the partnership is looking to raise additional cash to fund its turnaround plan, which suffered a two-year setback due to inflationary pressures.

 

The decline of WOolies

https://news.sky.com/story/woolworths-demise-15-years-on-what-happened-at-the-retail-giant-and-could-it-come-back-13041530

Retail expert Clare Bailey was among the consultants drafted in 2006 to tackle the mammoth task of detangling the company's supply chain, which she says was collecting too much of some stock and too little of others.

As banks began to lose faith in Woolworths's finances, the firm had its credit insurance withdrawn - meaning it had to pay suppliers immediately, rather than in instalments.

To make matters worse, many Woolworths stores were sold a few years before and rented back at a price that only appeared to increase over the years.

Left with fewer assets, little in way of cash reserves and no credit insurance, the retailer was not prepared for the coming shock of the 2008 financial crisis.