The John Lewis Partnership, a large retail group that owns 36 department stores and over 300 Waitrose supermarkets, reported a pre-tax loss of £124 million for the six months ending 1 August 2025, an increase from a £88 million loss in the same period last year. The company attributed the losses to rising costs, including higher national insurance contributions, and difficulties caused by extreme weather conditions, such as heatwaves, which disrupted normal operations. The company is currently undergoing a major restructuring plan, which has included closing 16 department stores and at least 20 Waitrose locations, along with reducing thousands of jobs. Despite the overall losses, the Waitrose supermarket division saw a 4% sales increase, reaching £4.3 billion, while the department store chain experienced a 2% decline in sales, dropping to £2 billion. Overall sales for the half-year rose by 2%, reaching £6.3 billion. Jason Tarry, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, explained that the results reflected the company’s ongoing efforts to transform its business, the more difficult retail environment, and the increased costs of operating in the current economic climate. Peter Ruis, who led the department store division, recently left his position after less than three years, and has been replaced by Will Kernan, a former leader of the River Island fashion brand. In March, the company gave a 2% bonus on salaries to its 69,000 employees, known as partners, for the first time in four years. This bonus totaled £35 million, which amounted to roughly one week’s extra pay per employee, following a 6% rise in the company’s underlying profit. However, the company has faced challenges this summer due to weak consumer spending. Repeated heatwaves have discouraged shoppers from visiting high streets, pushing them toward online retailers instead. Additionally, the rising cost of living has reduced demand for expensive items like furniture and bedding. Despite these difficulties, the John Lewis Partnership expressed confidence in its performance for the second half of the year, which includes the key Christmas shopping period and when the company typically earns most of its annual profits. As one of the few remaining national department store chains, John Lewis now stands out after the closures of Debenhams and Beales. Recently, the Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge was bought out of financial trouble by Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct, who had previously described the store as being in a “death spiral.”