Jason Tarry, dhairman of the John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, told staff the retailer had been forced to “trade into lower sales and higher costs” in recent months.

John Lewis opened as the anchor store at Westgate Oxford in 2017 following a £440m revamp at the shopping centre.

READ MORE: John Lewis makes major change to UK stores

In an interview for the company’s magazine, Mr Tarry said John Lewis needed to “adjust for an immediate future that we weren’t expecting even six months ago, let alone a couple of years ago”.

He said the retailer was “heavily focused at the moment on what that means for us in terms of adjusting our plan going forward”. His remarks were first reported by the Financial Times.

Mr Tarry joined John Lewis as chairman two years ago after more than three decades at Tesco, replacing Dame Sharon White, the former boss.

Retailers have been dealing with cost increases as the conflict in Iran hit supply chains, while higher fuel prices and inflationary pressures have forced consumers to tighten their belts.

In financial results published earlier this year, John Lewis fell to a £21m pre-tax loss in 2025 compared with a pre-tax profit of £97m the year before. The retailer also cut about 3,300 jobs last year, according to its annual report.

Since then, it has launched a further redundancy consultation across dozens of stores as it cuts foreign exchange services and gift-wrapping desks.

It has also told staff they must be in the office more often as it works to keep up with rivals who have increasingly ditched remote working.

As part of his turnaround plan, Mr Tarry has focused the group’s strategy on its core retail businesses, abandoning his predecessor’s plan to build thousands of rental homes.

Instead, he has laid out plans to reinvest in its stores, including by opening new Waitrose shops and refurbishing existing ones.

Waitrose (Image: Contributed)

Mr Tarry said staff should not expect the pace of change to slow down during his tenure.

A John Lewis spokesman said: “It’s no secret that trading conditions are challenging right now as people think carefully about their spending.

“Our priority is to do the right thing for our customers so we’re continuing to invest significantly in our brands with new and refurbished Waitrose shops and fresh propositions in John Lewis like our new beauty and sports halls and Platter hospitality offer.”

Glitter, 82, whose real name is Paul Gadd and was born in Banbury, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and three counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14 between 1978 and 1981.

Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay KC said the alleged offences occurred between 1978 and 1981, when the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was aged eight to 11.

The offences allegedly took place at Glitter’s home address in Kensington and Chelsea, west London.

READ MORE: Ex-TVP staff member had indecent images of children, court hears

Prosecutors allege Glitter would give the girl chocolate and “invite her into his house where he then committed a number of serious sexual offences”.

Glitter appeared at the court via videolink wearing a blue shirt, glasses and a cap.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded Glitter into custody and he will next appear at the Old Bailey on September 2 – the judge added it was “to be determined” whether this would be via videolink or in person.

The judge told Glitter: “You face charges that include an offence which is indictable only, which means only the crown court can deal with it.

“The other three charges are related because it’s the same complainant.

“In that circumstance, all four charges are sent to crown court, the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, where you will appear on September 2.”

Oxfordshire County Council has pledged “firm action” against Scottish and Southern Electricity Network for the closing an A40 slip road without street works permits being approved.

Having closed at Marston on July 7 and expected to remain shut until December 2027, the work has resulted in traffic disruption in nearby villages Elsfield and Woodeaton.

A40 slip road at Marston (Image: OCC)

As highways authority, the council has vowed to issue fines and other fees against the company for the unauthorised closure.

By failing to obtain the necessary permit and working outside the agreed statutory process, the council accused SSEN of preventing it from managing the wider impact of the roadworks to minimise disruption.

READ MORE: Cop made remarks about ‘sexual attractiveness’ of teen working at petrol station

Tim Bearder, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “It’s completely unacceptable that they did this unilaterally and without agreement.

“We, as highways authority, need to agree and schedule roadworks in a planned and considered way and I will be challenging this company about why this happened.

“It has caused immense disruption to residents who have seen heavy goods vehicles, double decker buses and a huge amount of traffic diverted on to a single-track road through their tiny villages.

A40 slip road at Marston (Image: OCC)

“This must not happen again, and we will be making that perfectly clear to the utility company involved while also making sure that this work is completed as soon as possible.”

Oxfordshire County Council has taken formal enforcement action in relation to the permit breach.

A fixed penalty notice has been issued in accordance with national regulations – the highest level of penalty ordinarily available for this category of permit offence.

In May, the council’s lane rental scheme came into force – a system which allows it to charge companies up to £2,500 per day for working on the busiest roads at peak traffic times.

As the work took place on a designated lane rental road during periods where charging applies, the firm is now facing fees of around £60,000.

Council officers will continue discussions with SSEN to ensure that “appropriate improvements” are made and that a similar situation does not arise again.

SSEN has been approached for a comment.

It is understood the company has acknowledged that the business undertook work without a permit.

Workmen have been tasked with replacing overhead lines with underground cable to improve supply reliability.