Department store chain John Lewis has outlined a major store closure programme and the scrapping of next year's staff bonus as part of a widespread cost-cutting programme.
Sharon White, the staff-owned business’s new chair, revealed the plans in a memo to staff seen by The Standard.
The number of stores and jobs affected has yet to be decided, but White said: “The difficult reality is that we have too much store space for the way people want to shop now.
"As difficult as it is, it is highly unlikely we will reopen all our John Lewis stores,” White added.
Details of the closures and any job cuts are expected to be revealed to staff in the middle of July, the memo said.
One of the first tasks undertaken by White, the former head of telecoms regulator Ofcom, when she joined in February was to launch a review of the John Lewis and Waitrose businesses.
An overhaul of the retailer’s IT staff has already started, while the review will look at how best to use the group’s property base including combining Waitrose and John Lewis stores and product ranges.
The department store warned in March that profits last year had plummeted and it was slashing staff bonuses.
Trading has not been as bad as our worst-case scenario during the lockdown period thanks to a lot of hard work from our partners, said White.
"However as our competitors reopen we expect trading to be tougher in the second half of the year."
Since lockdown restrictions have eased, the group has reopened 20 of its 50 stores with a further ten to reopen on 16 July, it announced today including the flagship Oxford Street store.
White said it was possible going forward to envisage between 60-70% of sales being online.