Following the news of Dame Sharon White’s planned departure from John Lewis Partnership.

Zoe Mills, Lead Retail Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Dame Sharon White has been at the helm of the John Lewis Partnership during an exceedingly rocky period. She has faced unprecedented challenges, namely the global pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis. Indeed, while she will have been its shortest-serving chair in its history, she will have withstood at least four Prime Ministers during her tenure.”

“White oversaw the removal of the “Never Knowingly Undersold” price promise but failed to replace it with anything meaningful. The implementation of its ANYDAY range has been successful to some degree in enabling customers to trade down within the store as the cost-of-living crisis hit, but it has noticeably reduced marketing of the brand over the last year, indicating that it may have damaged quality perceptions of the retailer.”

Mills continues: “Her time has been marred by controversy when discussions of altering the employee-owned structure of the partnership were revealed but quickly shelved. It was a spectacularly ill-judged move that damaged her credibility with partners, though she did survive a subsequent vote of confidence on her leadership. Weak FY2022/23 results and the subsequent lack of the Partnership Bonus will ensure White does not leave on a high. For whoever takes over the position in early 2025, they will face significant challenges – the most important being that they ensure that the two-year delay on its transformation plan slips no further.”