The employee-owned John Lewis Partnership (JLP) will again not pay staff a bonus this year, but it has reported a return to profit, as boss Sharon White nears departure.
The high street heavyweight, which also owns Waitrose and the chain of eponymous department stores, reported profit before tax of £56m, marking a £290m improvement year-on-year.
Sales across its entire business climbed by just one per cent to £12.6bn, with supermarket sales leading the growth thanks to efforts to lower prices for customers.
Meanwhile, at the ailing department store, John Lewis said its sales were down four per cent to £4.8bn due to weaker demand for home ware and technology.
Speaking today, outgoing boss Sharon White said: “We have made significant progress in the last year to return the business to profitability and delivered results that allow us to increase investment in our retail businesses; we expect profits to grow further this year.
“This year we will unashamedly focus on investing back into our retail businesses for our customers, including opening new Waitrose shops and continuing to modernise our brand offering in John Lewis, while prioritising pay for our Partners.”
It will be the third year in a row staff at the Partnership do not receive a bonus.
The iconic package, first introduced in 1953, was cut due to a slowdown in sales amid the pandemic.
However, the firm said it was increasing overall pay by £116m in 2024, describing it as a “record investment for the business”.
More to follow