The chief executive of John Lewis has called on whoever wins the election to create a stable environment for economic growth and allow consumers to spend with confidence.
John Lewis Partners reports its Achieved full-year profit for the first time before the outbreakNish Kankiwala told Sky News that political and economic turmoil in recent years had damaged consumer confidence.
“There’s no doubt the last few years have been tough for households, with inflation, power bills, mortgage rates all rising. Now, despite the environment, our customers are still growing.
“From a broader perspective, my request is that we have stability. That makes a big difference for customers who are buying big-ticket items, or even just on a day-to-day basis. That’s what I’m asking for.
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“I think it’s important for our economy to encourage growth and stability so customers can make those decisions in an environment where they believe next year is going to be similar to this year, and I don’t think we’ve had that in a number of years that have just gone by.”
Remarks by former Prime Minister Theresa May’s favorite shop owner reflect a view widely held by the business community that the election provides an opportunity to reset the economy after the volatility and uncertainty of recent years, Leeds ·The Tesla Mini Bank chaos is an example of this. Budget.
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Kankiwala said the profit recovery at the group, which includes John Lewis stores and Waitrose supermarkets, was driven by one million new customers across the two brands and higher sales profits.
Despite making a pre-tax profit of £42m, 76,000 staff – known as partners – at Britain’s largest employee-owned firm will not receive bonuses, marking the third year in four years that no bonuses have been paid.
Kankiwala said partners will receive the largest pay rises in the firm’s history, with as many as two-thirds receiving raises of more than 10%, and that raises and investing in the business are shared priorities.
“In my year as CEO it was very clear to me that they wanted the partnership to have a long-term future, they wanted us to invest in the business, we had the stores that looked right, had the technology we needed and focused on Compensation,” he said.
Partners include Waitrose supermarkets and John Lewis department stores. Picture: JLP
Mr Kankiwala did not rule out job cuts but insisted there was no formal redundancy target after John Lewis considered cutting 11,000 staff over the next few years.
“We have a very clear growth plan and it’s working this year. New customers are coming into our stores, our margins and profits are growing and that’s what we’re delivering.
“So these things have no numbers, no parameters [redundancies]. Fundamentally, it’s about growth. We have a plan in place to deliver growth, for our partners and our business, and we will continue to review it. “
Mr Kankiwala has been in the job for a year, before his second term as chairperson, Dame Sharon White, decides to step down after just five years in the role.
Dame Sharon’s plans for John Lewis include diversifying the brand, with projects including building rental homes and a target of 40% of profits from non-retail sources.
Mr Kankiwala confirmed that goal had now been abandoned in favor of a “shameless focus” on retail.
“The environment has changed dramatically over the past few years,” he said. “When rates were set in 2020 it was much lower, we didn’t have high inflation and fundamentally we didn’t want to set that target because we were focused on retail.”
He also insisted Waitrose and John Lewis would still be part of the same team. “We’re partners, two great brands. And they’re here to stay.”
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