John Lewis Partnership (JLP) Chair, Dame Sharon White, has insisted the retailer is “back on track and fit for the future” and also has the momentum behind it as she prepares to stand down in September.
Ms White, who will hand over to incoming Chair Jason Tarry after five years, the shortest in the partnership’s history, told The Telegraph: “We’re back on track and much more fit for the future. This is a launch pad for the next phase of growth for the business and to be frank we’re in as solid a position as we could be given the five years we’ve had.
“Look at the high street names that aren’t here, but were here in 2019. The fact that we’ve come through it, the business has got momentum and the team is in place for a smooth transition. I’ve felt incredibility lucky.”
Her tenure saw her guide JLP through the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, said: “We’ve come through once in a generation events over the last five years. We’ve had the pandemic and we’ve had inflation at a level we haven’t seen since the 1970s. We’ve come through that as a partnership with all the upsides of the partnership – transparency, service, long-term focus – intact.
“I would say it’s a watershed moment. Some of the difficult decisions we took over the last year mean that we’re now generating more cash as a business.”
JLP reported that it had returned to profit in its last financial year, making a pre-tax profit of £42 million.
