The owner of John Lewis fell to a loss of more than £120m in the first half of its trading year as the retail giant suffered from “a more challenging trading environment and the increased costs of doing business”.
The John Lewis Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, posted a pre-tax loss of £124m, up 41 per cent year on year, as sales grew by just two per cent to £6.3bn.
Jason Tarry, chairman of the employee-owned group, said: “Our first-half results reflect our continued investment in our transformation, a more challenging trading environment and the increased costs of doing business.”
The company said its operating costs in the period were pushed up by the rising cost of employment, including Labour’s hike to employer national insurance contributions (NICs), which retailers have warned is preventing them from hiring.
Sales at John Lewis fell by two per cent to £2bn in the six months to August, as the department store battled with a “more challenging” discretionary market, as cash-strapped shoppers cut back on spending on big-ticket items.
Waitrose, however, took a four per cent sales uplift to £4.3bn, though the grocer’s margin slimmed from 2.8 to 2.6 per cent due to extra costs caused by summer heatwaves.
More to follow.