John Lewis Partnership (JLP), owner and operator of John Lewis and Waitrose, has recorded £5.8bn ($7.24bn) in total sales in the first half (H1) of the fiscal year (FY) ending 29 July 2023.
This is an increase of 2% compared with the same period last FY.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The company’s revenue for the period was up 3% against the prior year.
During the period, JLP’s losses before tax and exceptional items fell from £66.8m in the prior year’s period to £57.3m, marking a 14% improvement. Meanwhile, the losses before tax narrowed by 41% from £99.2m in the prior year’s period to £59.0m in the latest first half.
The company served 600,000 new customers during the period, taking its total customers to 21.4 million.
Sales in the Waitrose division rose by 4% to £3.7bn in the first half and this growth was driven by an average item price rise of 9%. Sales for John Lewis declined by 2% to £2.1bn during the period.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataWaitrose’s trading operating profit for the first half improved from £431.7m to £504.4m in the first half to 29 July.
The trading operating profit of John Lewis dropped to £277.1m in the first half of the current FY from £295.0m in the same period a year ago.
John Lewis Partnership chief executive Nish Kankiwala said: “Our transformation to modernise our business is well underway and I want to thank our Partners for their efforts to give customers great service, quality and value when they shop with us in-store or online.
“There are no brands better placed than Waitrose and John Lewis to provide customers with what they need right now – to help them feel good and eat well.”
Recently, Waitrose said that it is lowering the prices of 250 popular autumn products, marking the third round of cuts this year.
