John Lewis turnaround plans to take longer than expected

The business now expects to fully deliver this plan by the 2027/28 financial year, with the delay being driven by a combination of inflationary pressures as well as greater than expected investment requirements for its transformation programme.  

The turnaround plan, which was set out in its year-end results in March, aims to achieve an additional £600m worth of efficiencies over its life, with £308m already achieved. At present, £31.2m has been realised in the first half through a combination of process simplification, margin efficiencies and supplier negotiations.  

It’s also said its plans are on track to scale efficiencies, with John Lewis also investing to modernise technology and data through new partnerships, and progressing to rent and expanding financial services.  

In its latest results, its two brands have reported mixed results – with Waitrose seeing sales improve by four percent to £3.7bn - with this driven by an increase of nine percent in the average item price, while volumes were down by five percent. John Lewis, on the other hand, saw its sales drop by two percent – going down to £2.1bn  

John Lewis Partnership’s chief executive Nish Kankiwala said: “Our transformation to modernise our business is well under way, and I want to thank our partners for their efforts to give customers great service, quality and value when they shop with us in store or online.

 
“There are no brands better placed than Waitrose and John Lewis to provide customers with what they need right now - to help them feel good and eat well.”