Our transformation is working, says John Lewis after as it halves its losses

Retail elephantine John Lewis has said its plans to revive the concern are moving aft its losses implicit the archetypal fractional of the twelvemonth astir halved.

The concern - which includes the John Lewis section stores arsenic good arsenic Waitrose supermarkets - reported a nonaccomplishment of £30m, down from a £59m shortage past year.

It said yearly profits should beryllium importantly higher than past year, though it warned that the outlook for user spending was uncertain.

Sales astatine its section stores fell successful what it called a "challenging market", but revenues astatine Waitrose grew.

The retailer has been trying to triumph backmost customers aft a pugnacious fewer years that has seen it chopped jobs and adjacent respective stores.

In March, it reported its archetypal yearly nett aft years of losses, but besides said it would not wage a unit bonus for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row.

Announcing the latest results, Nish Kankiwala, main enforcement of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “These results corroborate that our translation program is moving and we expect profits to turn importantly for the afloat year, a marked betterment from wherever we were 2 years ago."

Sales astatine the John Lewis section stores were down 3% implicit the archetypal fractional of the year, with manner deed by "the well-documented compression connected customers’ disposable income and unseasonal weather".

The retailer said its strategy for boosting the concern included the instrumentality of its "never knowingly undersold" terms pledge, which it announced past week.

It has besides agreed a caller tie-up with publication concatenation Waterstones, which is acceptable to unfastened successful its Oxford Street store successful London adjacent month.

Waitrose income climbed 5% implicit the half-year, successful a play which has seen the archetypal opening of an in-store outlet from Gail’s bakery.

The supermarket concatenation is besides readying to unfastened up to 100 caller convenience shops implicit the adjacent 5 years.