John Lewis appoints former Tesco boss as group chair after returning to profit
Mr Tarry will become the group's new chair
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The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has announced the appointment of Jason Tarry as its next chairman, replacing interim chair Dame Sharon White.
Mr Tarry, who was Tesco’s UK & Ireland chief executive for six years, will take on the leadership role in September.
The group, which owns John Lewis and Waitrose, confirmed Dame Sharon will step down from her position at the end of her term.
This comes after JLP returned to profit following three years of losses as the organisation scrapped targets to bring in half of its earnings from outside retail by 2030.
Rita Clifton, deputy chairwoman and chairwoman of the nomination committee, noted this latest appointment was part of the business’ “next phase”.
She said: “The board extends its huge thanks to Sharon for successfully leading the partnership through one of the most testing periods in its history – first Covid and then the cost-of-living crisis. She has faced into the toughest decisions and overseen the partnership’s financial recovery.
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The new JLP chair previously had a senior leadership role at Tesco
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“As the partnership moves into the next phase of its modernisation focused on our core retail business as well future growth, we are confident that Jason will provide the kind of inspirational leadership, a proven track record in multi-channel, multi-category retail success and a strong identification with partnership values that we are seeking in this role.”
Dame Sharon added: “I’m delighted to be handing over to Jason, who has a combination of fantastic retail experience with leadership through transformation.
“From my many conversations with Jason, he has demonstrated a clear appreciation for the partnership model and champions it. I look forward to welcoming him to the partnership in September and carrying out a smooth handover.”
When the outgoing chair first joined the retail group in 2020, she promised to build and rent out 10,000 homes as part of a wider plan to bring in 40 per cent of profits from non-retail operations.
Last month, Dame Sharon cited soaring interest rates and inflation as to why this target had to be scrapped with a renewed focus on retail being part of the John Lewis owner’s wider strategy.
For the 12 months to January 2024, pre-tax profits at JLP came to £56million, compared with a £234million loss the previous year.
Over the period, sales at the retail group jumped by one per cent to £12.4billion with Waitrose assisting in driving this boost.
The supermarket chain raised prices which helped offset a weaker than expected performance from John Lewis.
In the last financial year, Waitrose’s sales increased by five per cent to £7.7billion thanks to 6.6 per cent hike in prices. Comparatively, John Lewis sales plummeted four per cent to £4.8billion.
At Waitrose, trading operating profit improved by £170million to £1billion at Waitrose with John Lewis’s trading operating profit increasing by £13million to £689million year-on-year.
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The John Lewis owner returned to profit but the owner is reportedly mulling over potential cuts to staff roles GETTY On his appointment, Mr Tarry shared his admiration for the John Lewis brand and "values".
He said: “The partnership and its brands stand for trust, value, quality and service and it’s a great privilege to be succeeding Sharon as the seventh chairman.
“The partnership is unique and I’ve long been an admirer of the employee-ownership model, its values and partner-led customer service.
"This starts with a sharp focus on being brilliant retailers for customers and investing in growth.”