Our website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

Home News British retailer John Lewis says turnaround delayed by two years

British retailer John Lewis says turnaround delayed by two years

by Uma Rajagopal
0 comments
2023 09 14T062916Z 1 LYNXMPEJ8D05G RTROPTP 4 JOHN LEWIS RESULTS

British retailer John Lewis says turnaround delayed by two years

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) -John Lewis Partnership’s turnaround will take two years longer than planned and cost more money, the British retailer warned on Thursday, as stubborn inflation and rising interest rates batter shoppers and store groups alike.

The employee-owned group, which runs John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, reported a narrowing in first-half losses and forecast an improvement in full-year results.

But it said a combination of inflationary pressures and greater than expected investment requirements meant its turnaround would not be completed until 2027/28.

“Those two factors mean the plan will take a couple of years longer to get us back to the sort of profit levels that we’ll be happy with,” Sharon White, the former Treasury official who chairs the group, told reporters.

She did not say how much extra investment was needed.

The plan, launched in 2020, is focused on cutting 900 million pounds of costs, increasing the appeal of the partnership’s brands and diversifying into new services. It has also said it could seek external investment.

White said the partnership still had an ambition to generate 40% of its profit from outside retail, though the target date of 2030 could also be delayed.

The partnership said that while the economic outlook and consumer sentiment remained uncertain, stronger Waitrose trading and further efficiency savings in the second half meant it expected an improved full-year financial performance.

“We typically make most of our profit in the last three months of the year, so a successful peak is always critical,” it said.

The partnership made a 57.3 million pound ($71.6 million) loss before tax and exceptional items in the six months to July 29. That was a 14% improvement from the same period last year on sales that rose 2% to 5.8 billion pounds.

It made a 77.6 million pounds pretax loss in its 2022-23 financial year.

The partnership said customers were spending more on beauty and fashion but holding back on technology and big ticket home items.

Britain’s consumers have shown resilience in 2023 despite high inflation and rising borrowing costs.

Next, Marks & Spencer and Primark have all in recent weeks issued positive updates, though industry data has shown spending lost pace in August.

($1 = 0.8003 pounds)

(Reporting by James DaveyEditing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)

 

Recent Post