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Quote from Evening Standard:

The new chairman of John Lewis is to take an axe to stores, jobs and part of the retail group’s London headquarters in a cost-cutting drive, the Evening Standard can reveal.

In a bombshell letter to staff, Sharon White this week told 80,000 staff at the mutual, which also includes Waitrose, that its prized bonus will likely be ditched next year as the company wrestles to improve profitability.

At the start of the Covid crisis, sources at the group warned it was unlikely all 50 of its department stores would reopen after the lockdown. White confirmed plans to close a several unnamed shops, with staff informed in mid-July. Around 20 stores have reopened since non-essential retailers were given the green light to reopen on June 15 with distancing measures in place. Plans to open a further 10 were announced today, including Oxford Street on July 16.

In the letter, seen by the Standard, 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, we now know that it is highly unlikely that we will reopen all our John Lewis stores. Regrettably, it is likely that there will implications for some Partners’ jobs. We are in active discussions with landlords about ending some leases and renegotiating others to make the terms more flexible.”