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John Lewis managing director Peter Ruis quits after tough trading warning
Ruis will be replaced by Will Kernan, and the departure follows Chair Jason Tarry’s warning that trading conditions have turned “really tough.”
John Lewis said managing director Peter Ruis will leave the company after less than three years in the role, with the retailer citing a period of “really tough” trading conditions. The company said he is stepping down to “pursue new projects.”
John Lewis added that Will Kernan, a non-executive board member of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership, will replace Ruis. Kernan said the business still has “significant headroom for growth.”
The move comes after Chair Jason Tarry warned last week of “really tough” trading conditions in an interview with the company’s in-house magazine. Earlier this year, John Lewis paid its 69,000 workers an annual bonus for the first time in four years after underlying profits rose, with staff sharing a bonus pot of 35 million pounds, about one week’s extra pay each.
The article also links the tougher outlook to inflation pressures, saying the US-Israeli war on Iran has contributed to higher inflation as oil prices have soared. That has squeezed shoppers and raised costs for retailers, and Tarry indicated the company has to adjust to an immediate future it was not expecting even six months earlier.