John Lewis looks to flats and financial services for its post-retail future telegraph.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraph.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Carol Kane, the co-founder of Boohoo, has just been named the most influential woman in UK retail, according to the Retail 100 list. H&M Group chief executive Helena Helmersson came in at 28.
John Lewis boss needs more than just a positive outlook
Sharon White’s optimism is not entirely misplaced, but getting the department store s mojo back will be her biggest challenge
Sharon White is chairman of the John Lewis Partnership
Credit: Paul Grover for the Telegraph
Two billion. That’s how many reasons John Lewis boss Sharon White has to do things that her predecessors thought unimaginable.
Well, £2.1bn to be precise. With the 157-year-old high street darling drowning in debt, Dame Sharon has had to be unflinching in her overhaul.
The pandemic has helped too. John Lewis was already struggling but a Covid-induced collapse in profits has left it embroiled in a scrap for survival, providing the cover needed to swing the axe at an institution that prides itself on being cuddly.
Patrick Lewis will leave the John Lewis Partnership in June
John Lewis has handed a £1.5m payoff to the great-grandson of its founder ahead of his departure from the retailer in June.
Finance director Patrick Lewis, the last remaining family member who worked at the department store chain, has pocketed the sum after stepping back from his role last year.
The move comes after the John Lewis Partnership scrapped staff bonuses for the first time since 1953 last year and sunk to a £517m loss last month.
Mr Lewis has been with the organisation for more than a quarter of a century. He was replaced by customer service director Bérangère Michel in December and has been on leave since then.