British retailer John Lewis' losses taper off in first half

UK-based high-end department store chain John Lewis has narrowed down its loss before tax to £29 million in the first half (H1) of fiscal 2022 ended on July 31, 2021, against the loss of £635 million in the same period of 2020. However, the group’s sales for improved 6 per cent driven by homeware, fashion and nursery demand during the period.

 

UK-based high-end department store chain John Lewis has narrowed down its loss before tax to £29 million in the first half (H1) of fiscal 2022 ended on July 31, 2021, against the loss of £635 million in the same period of 2020. However, the group's sales for improved 6 per cent driven by homeware, fashion and nursery demand during the period.#

“Waitrose business continued its positive momentum with 2 per cent sales growth over last year and up 10 per cent on 2019/20. This was largely driven by online growth as we increased capacity in our shops and delivery fleet and through a new fulfillment centre in Greenford, West London, to meet rising demand,” the British retailer stated. “Waitrose’s online sales now stand at 17 per cent, up from 11 per cent a year ago but back a bit from 20 per cent in March this year.”

 

UK-based high-end department store chain John Lewis has narrowed down its loss before tax to £29 million in the first half (H1) of fiscal 2022 ended on July 31, 2021, against the loss of £635 million in the same period of 2020. However, the group's sales for improved 6 per cent driven by homeware, fashion and nursery demand during the period.#

Furthermore, John Lewis business sales surged 12 per cent on H1 of FY20, and 1 per cent on 2019/20.

 

UK-based high-end department store chain John Lewis has narrowed down its loss before tax to £29 million in the first half (H1) of fiscal 2022 ended on July 31, 2021, against the loss of £635 million in the same period of 2020. However, the group's sales for improved 6 per cent driven by homeware, fashion and nursery demand during the period.#

“Customers are returning to stores typically for larger, more considered purchases such as furniture and beds, and ‘take with you’ items like stationery and gifts, but so far not in the same numbers as before the pandemic. For the period that our shops were open this year, like-for-like sales compared to two years ago were around 20 per cent lower,” the company further added.

 

UK-based high-end department store chain John Lewis has narrowed down its loss before tax to £29 million in the first half (H1) of fiscal 2022 ended on July 31, 2021, against the loss of £635 million in the same period of 2020. However, the group's sales for improved 6 per cent driven by homeware, fashion and nursery demand during the period.#

In its outlook for the second half, John Lewis said that it will be focussing on the execution of the partnership plan and present its customers with unrivalled products and service (online and in store) and give them the best possible Christmas.

 

UK-based high-end department store chain John Lewis has narrowed down its loss before tax to £29 million in the first half (H1) of fiscal 2022 ended on July 31, 2021, against the loss of £635 million in the same period of 2020. However, the group's sales for improved 6 per cent driven by homeware, fashion and nursery demand during the period.#

Second half highlights include: Autumn/Winter expansion of Anyday to include mens, womens and childrens fashion; relaunching the MyJL app to improve rewards for customers; expanding areas dedicated to John Lewis within Waitrose to approximately 40 shops by early 2022; 10 new Christmas emporiums (one-stop Christmas shops offering inspirational experiences, including in-store events and workshops) in John Lewis and over 100 new Christmas lines in Waitrose; and a bigger Waitrose Levantine Table range and new vegan/vegetarian own brands - Plant Life and GoVeggie.