The newly appointed boss of John Lewis has warned that the division retailer and grocery group is “basically not producing enough revenue” as a confidence vote within the chair’s management and revival plan approaches subsequent month.

Nish Kankiwala, the lossmaking retailer’s first chief government, talking a month into his position, stated speedy change was wanted on the employee-owned firm.

“Companions and clients love our enterprise and wish it to do higher, however we’re presently not delivering the revenue we have to,” he stated in an interview with the Gazette, the retailer’s inside weekly journal, seen by the Monetary Instances.

“Profitability is essential in order that we will put money into our companions, in our infrastructure and expertise, which we’ve actually received to speed up, and since retail is so powerful and aggressive proper now, we’ve got to behave at tempo.”

The chief government’s remarks got here after the group’s “happiness” scores, recorded in a workers ballot, fell beneath 2022 ranges, as the corporate prepares to carry a twice-yearly vote of confidence within the technique beneath the chair’s management.

The mutual, which owns the eponymous department shops and grocery store Waitrose, posted an annual pre-tax lack of £234mn final yr with total gross sales down 2 per cent to £12bn. In March, it cancelled its prized workers bonus for the second time in three years and warned of job cuts.

The retailer is 2 years right into a turnround plan spearheaded by chair Dame Sharon White, though Kankiwala’s temporary is to make sure that the “government [team] as an entire delivers the general business plan”, he stated, and assist to return it to profitability.

Greater than 45,000 staff took half in its spring survey. They highlighted that the mutual had “work to do” when it got here to rewards, technique and transformation.

A John Lewis Partnership spokesperson stated: “The survey is one essential means of listening to how our companions are feeling, which is core to our democratic rules. There are some encouraging outcomes and we’ll be working carefully with our companions to handle the areas we have to enhance.”

The partnership’s council, which represents the pursuits of all 74,000 staff, will forged two confidence votes on 9-10 Might. These are symbolic, nevertheless, and a means of expressing the council’s view.

“One [vote is] trying again and expressing confidence within the progress of the partnership beneath the chairman’s management over the previous yr,” Chris Earnshaw, president of the council, stated within the Gazette, “and one trying ahead, supporting the chair to progress the partnership beneath their management.”

Final yr one vote was held in Might, referring to the chair, and one in September, in regards to the technique, however the course of has been overhauled this yr.