What: The waning profitability of John Lewis stores.

Why it is important: John Lewis is taking dramatic measures to deal with post-covid and its huge shift to online retail.

The Financial Times argues that the shift of strategy at John Lewis will have a huge impact on geographical areas where stores are to be closed. It remains a question whether fitting smaller versions of department stores inside Waitrose supermarkets will be sufficiently attractive to customers. John Lewis has based its strategy on customer data which reveals that it is confident in the future of 34 of its department stores out of the 50 operating at the beginning of the covid pandemic.

John Lewis looks to a future away from the shop floor