John Lewis Partnership reports increase sales, but drop in profits
John Lewis Partnership has reported that its gross sales for 2017 were up 2% at £11,597.7m, but profits were down 21.9% at £289.2m.
In a statement issued today (8 March), Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of John Lewis Partnership, said that 2017 had been a “challenging year” with subdued consumer demand and profits were down “mainly as a result of intensifying margin pressure in Waitrose”.
On the plus side, Waitrose’s online business continued to grow, particularly for food products. Sir Charlie commented: “Following investment in our website, making it easier to navigate, our online grocery operation achieved strong profitable sales growth of 10.9%, with a marked acceleration in the second half.”
Looking ahead, Sir Charlie said the group would continue to build on its Click & Collect capability, with the installation of more self-service kiosks.
