John Lewis has let go of its soul, says Portas

Retail guru lays bare her fears for the future of high street national treasure in letter to its chairman

John Lewis has “let go of its soul” under Dame Sharon White, according to Mary Portas, the retail consultant and former Downing Street adviser. In a scathing open letter to Dame Sharon, the John Lewis chairman, and Nish Kankiwala, the incoming chief executive, Ms Portas said she was speaking “on behalf of the nation”. It has emerged that John Lewis could water down its staff ownership model by selling a stake to an investor to raise up to £2billion of investment.

JOHN LEWIS has “let go of its soul” under Dame Sharon White, according to Mary Portas, the retail consultant and former Downing Street adviser.

In a scathing open letter to Dame Sharon, the John Lewis chairman, and Nish Kankiwala, the incoming chief executive, Ms Portas said she was speaking “on behalf of the nation”.

It comes after it emerged that John Lewis could water down its decades-old staff ownership model by selling a stake to an outside investor. Dame Sharon is seeking to raise between £1billion and £2billion of new investment but John Lewis’s partnership model means it is unable to raise equity and has instead been forced to sell bonds. It already has £1.7 billion of debt on its books.

Ms Portas said: “Your task isn’t to turn around just another mediocre retailer under threat of going under. You’re fighting to save part of our collective cultural identity. But what’s worrying me is that you might think your fight is purely financial. It’s not.

“The battle in hand is far more nuanced. It’s about what makes up the soul of your brand. The intangibles, the shared beliefs, the beautiful things that can’t be captured in financial projections but earn a space in people’s hearts.

“Somehow, in recent years, you’ve let go of the soul. We’ve all felt the subtle, but powerful, erasure of what John Lewis is, a severing of what’s always set your business apart.”

The Linkedin post of the letter prompted a flurry of responses from retail bosses including Tom Athron, the chief executive of Fortnum & Mason, who wrote: “Lessons for us all in here.”

Christian Haas, managing director of YO! Sushi in the UK and Ireland, added: “A superb letter Mary. Thank you for speaking on behalf of the nation and I dearly hope your words do not go unheeded.” Dame Sharon has been battling to revive John Lewis’s fortunes as the business grapples with falling sales and large losses. Earlier this month, the mutual, which also owns Waitrose, told staff that they would not receive a bonus after posting a worse-than-expected £230 million annual loss.

She has hired Mr Kankiwala, a turnaround expert and the former chairman of Hovis, as John Lewis’s first chief executive. It followed the surprise departure of Pippa Wicks, who was hired in 2020 as the managing director of the company’s department stores.

Responding on social media, Dame Sharon said: “It’s the biggest privilege of my life to be custodian of the partnership. I am here to ensure that it not only survives, but thrives for generations.

I became chairman because we are a coowned business. It is why Nish, who has been in the partnership for two years, takes up the role of chief executive on Monday.

“I love our brands. Their strength isn’t an accident of our being a partnership. It is because we are a partnership. Our partners who own the business are our greatest asset and our ownership of the partnership will remain.

“We’ve always been open to new partnerships with investors or likeminded companies to share in our growth. I will not rest until the partnership is restored to full health.”

Ms Portas, who led an independent review into the future of the high street for the coalition government, also criticised Dame Sharon for ditching popular incentives at Waitrose. She said: “Every time I pop in, it’s another little miss. The newspaper? Gone. The coffee? Gone. Now returned. Your pledge ‘Never knowingly undersold’? Gone too.

“What we want in this crooked, flighty, commoditised world of ours is unfailing quality, honest value, genuinely helpful service.”

‘You’re fighting to save part of our collective cultural identity. But what’s worrying me is you think your fight is financial – it’s not’