Why is the one-time darling of the High Street struggling? John Lewis shoppers say lack of staff on shop floors, poor product choice and declining customer service are turning them off as department store giant warns of job cuts

Too many shops, poor management and falling standards of customer service have been attributed to John Lewis’ £234million loss last year.

The retail giant, which runs the department store chain and Waitrose supermarkets, has told staff they will not receive an annual bonus for just the second time in nearly 70 years due to the poor financial performance.

Despite a positive post-pandemic recovery, sales at Waitrose fell three per cent amid increasing signs shoppers are ‘decamping to cheaper stores’ such as Aldi and Lidl – while it also faces competition from a reinvigorated Marks & Spencer

Overall, it left sales across the John Lewis Partnership down 2 per cent to £12.25billion in the 12 months to January 28.

Shoppers have attributed the demise to a plethora of issues, including ‘skeleton staff’ on shop floors leading to a decline in customer service and poor management.

The cost of living crisis has also led to families cutting back on so-called ‘nice to have’ products in which John Lewis specialises.

Waitrose is also facing tougher competition as more shoppers turn to discount stores Lidl and Aldi.

The cost of living crisis has also led to families cutting back on so-called ‘nice to have’ products in which John Lewis specialises.

Waitrose is also facing tougher competition as more shoppers turn to discount stores Lidl and Aldi.

Clive Black, a retail analyst at Shore Capital, told The Telegraph: ‘Looking at potential new equity investors is an indication of distress, not strength.

‘John Lewis is a loss making business and it’s got a reasonable amount of debt. Frankly, this is an indication that they are running out of runway.’

One former employee also claimed there is ‘strong internal doubt’ over the ability of management to guide the company through the issues, citing Dame Sharon’s background at telecommunications watchdog Ofcom as having little relevance to the retail sector.

Meanwhile, the pivot to outside investment has sparked fears that any sale of a minority stake may contribute to the company ‘losing sight of what made them great in the first place’.

The sale of a minority stake could require a change to the John Lewis constitution, which would have to be voted on by its partnership council – a group of about 60 staff.

This could mean abandoning its paternalistic model and becoming a for-profit limited company or demutualising.