John Lewis needs a retail chief to take charge and steer it back on track
Sharon White’s successor at John Lewis faces a difficult decision, writes George MacDonald, and must choose whether to follow her strategy or forge their own to bring the British retailer success again
Earlier this week, Sharon White announced she would step down from the John Lewis Partnership after only a single term at the helm. It wasn’t a huge surprise after external investment concerns, a vote of confidence in May and more concerns over the future of the iconic British brand. The next chair will have to decide whether to finish the job, or take John Lewis in another new direction.
When White joined back in 2019, she was left to address the mess handed over by her predecessor Sir Charlie Mayfield, whose restructuring included scrapping the roles of separate managing directors for John Lewis and Waitrose, and who left the company as profits were coming under pressure.
A truly Herculean task, White had to draw up and enact a transformation strategy as the pandemic raged on, bringing unprecedented disruption to life in general and retail in particular. That was swiftly followed by the cost-of-living crisis when inflation bore down on companies and costs spiralled at levels not seen in decades.
Her strategy included building new businesses in fields such as housing rental and financial services, rather than being reliant on traditional retail.
As I understand it, White has chosen to leave because she believes the worst of the cost-of-living crisis is over. However, her exit comes as her strategy, which many still doubt, is only partially complete.
When the retailer released interim results last month, it was revealed that it would take two years longer than hoped to fulfil the ambitions of the transformation plan – 2027/28 rather than 2025/26.
White will be gone by then, standing down by February 2025. The partnership said she has “asked the board to review the accountabilities of the chairman’s role to ensure that these continue to support the successful transformation of the business”.
On the face of it, it sounds reassuring that the retailer’s path will not change. But there can be no such certainty. A new chair may want – and will demand the authority – to take the business in a direction that they think is right.
In the coming months, as the recruitment process gets underway, and allowing for a period during which the new chair can familiarise themselves, there will be a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the retailer.
White appointed the first chief executive in the partnership’s history – Nish Kankiwala – earlier this year. He was formerly a non-executive and is, presumably, aligned with White’s strategy but he must know that in little more than a year, his priorities could look very different.
Any business needs a clear strategy. In retail, what is just as important is the execution of that strategy. The partnership certainly has some talented directors but there is clearly much to do. Waitrose has been hit by some fundamental problems, such as lack of availability, while John Lewis is still without a permanent managing director.
It’s hard to draw any conclusion other than that John Lewis Partnership would benefit from a retailer as chair, as has proved so successful at arch-rival Marks & Spencer where Archie Norman has galvanised huge change.
A lot will ride on John Lewis’ deputy chair Rita Clifton leading the recruitment process. Happily, she brings experience from a range of consumer and retail businesses, including Asos and Dixons, where she was a non-executive.
White held true to many John Lewis values. She spoke up for and acted upon them. No doubt, some progress has been made at John Lewis. But in the end, while White seemed willing to make the big strategic decisions, even to dramatically break with the past, she won’t see her strategy through.
While her predecessors typically held the role much longer, she will be leaving a job half-finished. That’s unlikely to instil confidence in the retailer’s 74,000 partners.
George MacDonald is Executive Editor at Retail Week