Former high street stalwart John Lewis has issued a profit warning in which it has admitted that trading fell by 17 per cent as its department stores were forced to close due to coronavirus. The impact has seen it furlough 12,000 of its employees and reduce the remuneration of its executive team, NEDs, independent directors and chair by 20 per cent for an initial three months. Chairman Sharon White suggested that sales could fall by as much as 35 per cent for the full year.
Its Waitrose supermarket business, however, has enjoyed a sales increase of 8 per cent year-on-year since January 26th as consumers flooded its stores to panic buy essentials.
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