John Lewis Partnership chair Sharon White will be stepping down from her role in 2025 after just half a decade at the helm, making her the shortest-serving chair in the company’s 100-year history.
White’s five-year term is set to end in 2025 and she has alerted the board that she doesn’t wish to seek re-election for a second stint.
Losses at the retailer, which also owns Waitrose, have remained persistent throughout the cost-of-living crisis and they were expected to continue into this financial year, albeit improving on the £234 million loss recorded in 2022.
Planning to break the historic employee-owned structure of the Partnership, which sees every staff member receive a stake in the firm, White had initially sought outside investment to help raise cash at a difficult time for the company, but the plans were eventually shelved.
Earlier this year, White narrowly avoided the exit door after a partnership vote of confidence was conducted following her decision to change the company’s slogan and consider ditching the partnership bonus scheme.
Last week, the privately-owned company said it was in the process of raising up to £150 million through the sale and leaseback of 12 Waitrose supermarkets, according to sources close to the matter.