August/September 2026 housewareslive.net


NEWS


John Lewis losses widen as shoppers hold back J


ohn Lewis Partnership has reported a widening first-half loss as cautious consumers cut back on spending on big-ticket products for the home. The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose recorded a pre-tax loss of £124 million for the six months to 1 August, compared with an £88 million loss during the same period last year. Overall partnership sales increased by two per cent to £6.3 billion. However, the two sides of the business delivered contrasting


performances. Waitrose sales increased by four per cent, while sales at John Lewis fell by two per cent. John Lewis Partnership Chair Jason Tarry described the first half as a “tougher market than we had planned for”, with customers particularly cautious when considering larger purchases for their homes. The Partnership has also announced that Peter Ruis has decided


to step down as Managing Director of John Lewis with Will Kernan, currently Non-Executive Board member of the Partnership moving across to take on the MD role as part of the succession plan.


RKW strengthens leadership team to drive next phase of growth


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KW has announced a series of senior leadership


appointments designed to strengthen its commercial and category expertise as the business continues to evolve and expand across the UK retail market. The changes include the appointment of Philippa Simons as Category Director for Cook and Kitchen, the promotion of Luke Taylor to Sales Director, and Simon Oliver’s appointment as Group Commercial Director. Ms Simons joins RKW with nearly 30 years of retail buying and category experience gained with some of the UK’s most recognised retailers. MrTaylor has been promoted to Sales Director after seven years with RKW. Since joining the business, Mr Taylor has held a number of senior commercial positions, including Senior National Account Manager, Head of E-commerce and most recently E-commerce Director. Prior to RKW, he gained valuable industry experience with Groupe SEB and Beam Group. As part of the leadership changes, Mr Oliver has been appointed Group


Commercial Director, expanding his responsibility across the wider RKW business. Commenting on the appointments, Mr Oliver said:”Philippa’s appointment


brings exceptional retail, product and category expertise to the business, together with a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing today’s retail environment. “Luke’s promotion is thoroughly deserved and reflects the significant contribution he has made to RKW over the past seven years. His knowledge of our customers, brands and commercial operations will be instrumental as we continue to develop our sales strategy and accelerate growth. “The retail landscape continues to evolve rapidly, and these appointments


ensure we have the experience, insight and leadership needed to remain agile, strengthen customer partnerships and unlock new opportunities across our portfolio.”


Debenhams appoints Iain McDonald as Chairman as turnaround enters next phase


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ebenhams has appointed Iain McDonald as Chairman as the retail group moves into the next stage of its turnaround strategy. Mr McDonald has returned to the company’s Board with immediate effect, replacing Tim Morris, who is stepping down after almost two years as Chairman. His return comes as Debenhams, formerly known as Boohoo Group, looks to focus on rebuilding its equity value following the completion of the initial stage of its turnaround.


Mr McDonald previously served as a Non-Executive


Director of the business from June 2017 before stepping down in February this year. His departure allowed his investment fund, Belerion


Capital, to participate in an equity raise by the retailer. Mr McDonald and Belerion invested around $5 million in the fundraising, making him the group’s ninth-largest investor, according to LSEG data.


He is also Chairman and an investor at cosmetics business Revolution Beauty.


The leadership change follows Debenhams’ latest half-


year results, which saw adjusted core profit increase by 13.9 per cent.


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