There are retailers we really want to succeed. Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Boots are in this category, as legacy firms with a strong heritage which fell on hard times.
Under the guidance of chairman Archie Norman and, latterly, chief executive Stuart Machin, M&S is turning itself around. Fashion has been restored, the food offering is terrific and its portfolio of stores constantly is being reshaped and upgraded.
John Lewis Partnership has been a step behind. There is a tendency to blame former chairman Sharon White, who lacked retail experience, for its failures.
But a complex mutual structure, an inheritance of over-expansion and loss of momentum at Waitrose, which lost gloss after the departure of the ‘Chubby Grocer’ Mark Price a decade ago, didn’t help.
It now looks as if a corner has been turned. Tesco emigre Jason Tarry doubtless will claim some credit for a recuperation which saw pre-tax profit climb 73 per cent to £97million in the year to January 2025.
The decision to withhold bonuses for partners for the third year in a row is recognition that full recovery is some way off. The uplift in sales largely came from Waitrose, driven by increased volume and a new trendy partnership with Ottolenghi.
Cautious recovery: Sales at John Lewis remain flat despite the introduction of Waterstone book counters and a focus on revamped beauty
Sales at John Lewis remain flat despite the introduction of Waterstones book counters and a focus on revamped beauty.
The Partnership suffers the difficulties of much of the High Street. Reintroducing the ‘never knowingly undersold’ mantra is possible because of AI, but complicated in an age of Amazon and dynamic pricing.
Reductions in the payroll from 80,800 five years ago to 69,000 at present will drop through to the bottom line but maintaining exemplary service is undermined.
John Lewis used to be the go-to location for advice on electronic devices and laptops. Much of that trade has been ceded to competitors such as Currys. John Lewis may be a lesser tanker than M&S, but there is still a way to go.
That brings us to Boots. It is in an ownership trap following the purchase of its owner Walgreens by private equity company Sycamore.
The sooner a firm of such importance to the health and beauty of the nation is released from purgatory, the better. Hopefully, executives from the London Stock Exchange are knocking on Sycamore’s doors now, offering a fast-track relisting.
Small world
Wonderful to see the sub-octane Department for Business reaching out to 5.5m small enterprises, the bedrock of the UK economy.
It is seeking to empower them with a new Board of Trade including ‘Apprentice’ regular Mike Soutar and BT chief Allison Kirkby.
She has a role to play in making sure smaller firms have access to the fastest carbon fibre broadband.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, helpfully, is promising to assist our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to gain access to overseas markets by taking advantage of free trade agreements.
There is also a review aimed at improving access to finance and banking. Every little helps, but the reality is that Labour’s focus on what it likes to call ‘working people’ is devastating for many SMEs.
The National Insurance rise is a hammer blow to employment costs. Ed Miliband’s green agenda is driving prices higher.
Most troubling is the Angela Rayner-inspired Employment Rights Bill. It may be appreciated in the trades union-dominated public sector.
However, it is seen as a destroyer of jobs for SMEs, particularly those using flexible, part-timers.
On top of that, small retailers and hospitality firms face an existential threat from unreformed, surging business rates.
One other thing: Reynolds, by approving the sale of the Royal Mail to ‘Czech sphinx’ Daniel Kretinsky, is trusting small business deliveries, a lifeline for many firms, to risky, financially driven ownership.
Return to sender!
Vintage row
The nonsense tit-for-tat tariff war continues. Donald Trump’s latest threat is a 200pc tariff on EU wines, in response to a Brussels levy on the US’s finest bourbon whiskey. What a sacrifice for Americans.
They will be required to drink the finest West Coast pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel instead of claret, rioja and chianti. Cheers!
DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS
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