John Lewis Partnership’s chair Sharon White and her turnaround strategy will be under the microscope of employees in a de-facto vote of her leadership credentials.
According to reports, Partners, or employees, will vote on the company’s strategy across the next two days after the group, which also owns Waitrose, recorded a £234mln loss last year.
White has been in the hot seat since February 2020 and as part of her strategic plan, aimed to reach £400mln in profits by 2025.
However, three consecutive years of losses have raised questions about the future of John Lewis and its boss.
Problems started immediately after White took the reins with the outbreak of Coronavirus forcing stores to close temporarily.
The fallout from Covid was so large, in fact, that John Lewis permanently closed 16 locations during the pandemic.
The retailer, which is set to be overtaken by competitor Marks and Spencer by 2026 according to industry data, also took a blow as soaring inflation in shipping, energy and supplies increased costs by £180mln last year.
Forced to pass on costs, sales declined across both John Lewis and Waitrose as a result in 2022.
Years of loss-making shocked White into some drastic measures which have not been as warmly received as she would have hoped.
In attempts to diversify, John Lewis said it would build apartments to rent above shops in Bromley and Ealing and convert a vacant warehouse into flats in Reading.
Ealing council leader Peter Mason took to Twitter to slam John Lewis, stating the housing would not be affordable for residents and an eye-sore at 19 storeys high.
White’s biggest problem, and one that could make or break her time, is the rumoured ending of its 100% employee-ownership model.
Staff at John Lewis and Waitrose all own a small slice of the enlarged pie as part of a unique ownership model which has been in place for 73 years.
First broken by the Sunday Times in March, White was said to be mulling options to raise up to £2bn, which including selling a minority stake and restructuring the current model.
Former boss Andy Street said it would be a “tragedy” if Waitrose moved away from its employee ownership structure.