John Lewis boss issues warning due to tough trading conditions

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.”