Profits surge at John Lewis Partnership, according to leaked memo

John Lewis Partnership has reportedly seen a surge in profits thanks to its ongoing cost-cutting measures as well as bumper Christmas sales at Waitrose.

The partnership was “well ahead” of its 100 million pounds annual profit target by the end of December, with still a month of its financial year left, according to a leaked memo seen by The Mail on Sunday.

However, while sales at Waitrose were strong over Christmas, sales at John Lewis were hit by shortages due to supply chain disruption combined with weaker footfall due to the Omicron variant.

'Fantastic achievement'

Executives at the group hailed the strong overall profit growth as a “fantastic achievement given the complexity of trading through this year”.

The performance has raised hopes that the group could bring back its annual bonus in March to its 80,000 employees for the first time since 2020.

Executive director for finance Berangere Michel described the bonus as a “possibility” in the memo.

The group cancelled its annual staff payout during the pandemic for the first time in 67 years as part of a major cost-cutting drive.

The group is scheduled to publish its annual trading update on March 10.