John Lewis chair Sharon White suffered a major blow on Wednesday after narrowly winning a vote of confidence from staff.
The council, made up 61 partners, who form the retailer’s partnership council and have a say in how the business is run, said it did not have confidence in the Partnership’s performance under White’s leadership but backed her future strategy.
White first came under pressure after the retailer posted annual losses of £234 million and reports that White was looking to sell a minority stake in the business to raise funds – causing some partners to doubt her position at the firm.
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Speaking at a biannual staff meeting at the company’s Odney Club holiday retreat in Berkshire, White said: “The John Lewis Partnership will always be an employee-owned business, no ifs or buts.”
She added any external investment within the partnership had to be consistent with the rules of its constitution which guarantee employee ownership.
President of the council Chris Earnshaw commented: “The council voted in support of the chairman to progress the partnership in relation to its purpose, principles and rules.
“The council did not support last year’s performance, in which we reported a full year loss and no partner bonus.”
He added the meeting was “central to how we exercise our democratic principles and ownership of the business”.
