JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP TRIMS BONUSES
MORE than 90,000 John Lewis and Waitrose staff are expected to see staff bonuses cut yet again when the partnership that owns the two firms posts a fall in annual results on Thursday.
Staff bonuses are expected to fall to 9 per cent or 10 per cent this year, according to respected independent retail analyst Nick Bubb, compared to the 11 per cent staff were handed last year.
Analysts expect the John Lewis Partnership, which is owned by employees of the two retail chains, to report annual pre- tax profits before exceptional items of about £ 300million, from £ 342.7million a year ago. The business said in January its annual results would be hit by £ 60million of pension charges.
Department store chain John Lewis posted a rise in Christmas trading figures as surging online sales offset declines in its stores.
Over Christmas, the retailer reported a like- for- like sales lift of 5.1 per cent in the six weeks to January 2, but it relied on a 21.4 per cent jump in online trade as comparable store sales dropped 1.2 per cent.
The partnership also revealed “challenging’’ trading at Waitrose, which suffered a 1.4 per cent fall in like- for- like sales excluding fuel over the six weeks.