John Lewis staff to vote on ending partnership model in bid to stem losses
John Lewis staff will pass judgment on chairman Sharon White’s controversial proposal to up-end the retailer’s decades-old partnership model when members cast their ballots in a confidence vote on Wednesday.
White is considering selling a stake in the John Lewis Partnership to bring in outside investment of up to £2bn as a way to secure its future, partly by diversifying into building flats for rent above shops, after reporting hefty losses from its chain of department stores and Waitrose supermarkets.
On Wednesday the former top civil servant, who left the public sector to join the retailer three years ago, will give an update to the 61 members of the John Lewis Partnership council. A governing body made up of shop floor staff elected by the company’s workers, the council is gathering for a two-day meeting at the retailer’s own Odney Club holiday retreat in Berkshire.
The meeting, called a holding to account session, takes place shortly after each of the two half-yearly financial reports and is part of the group’s constitution.
The debate is followed by two votes – one on whether the council has confidence in the progress of the partnership under the chairman’s leadership over the past year, and the other on whether it can support the chairman to take the business forward. Members can answer from strongly agree to strongly disagree.
The votes are symbolic rather than binding; however, they can be influential as the business is owned by its staff and the council has the power to oust the chairman at any time if members see fit.
The council members represent the interests of the group’s 74,000 workers, passed to them via dozens of smaller forums representing the two retail brands in different areas of the country.
Chris
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