John Lewis department store chief quits after less than three years

John Lewis department store chief quits after less than three years

James Warrington

Mon, August 10, 2026 at 12:28 PM GMT+3 4 min read

The managing director of John Lewis has announced his departure after less than three years in the role.

Peter Ruis, who took up the job in 2024, will leave the company next month to pursue new projects, the group said on Monday.

Mr Ruis will be replaced by Will Kernan, the former boss of fashion chain River Island, who has been on John Lewis's board for three years.

Mr Ruis said: "After nearly three years of significant investment and modernisation, the business is now on a much stronger footing.

"I'm so proud of what we've achieved, and there is so much more still to come."

Mr Ruis's exit came after Jason Tarry, the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, warned this month that the retail business was facing "really tough" trading conditions that threatened to scupper its turnaround plans.

Mr Ruis, who first joined John Lewis in 2005 and previously served as its fashion boss, returned to the department store chain to lead turnaround efforts in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The 161-year-old department store chain shuttered branches and cut thousands of jobs in an effort to reverse a slump in sales. It suffered three consecutive years of losses before returning to profit in 2023.

In financial results published earlier this year, John Lewis fell to a £21m pre-tax loss in 2025 compared with a pre-tax profit of £97m a year prior. The retailer also cut around 3,300 jobs last year.

John Lewis has led a cost-cutting drive in response, which will see it close its in-store gift wrapping services and foreign exchange desks and slash a further 200 staff.

The turnaround plan has seen John Lewis shift focus back to its core retail operations, including scrapping plans to start building rental homes.

John Lewis paid its first staff bonus in four years in March after it scrapped the payout during Covid.

The company will spend £800m refurbishing its 36 remaining stores by 2029, while its flagship Oxford Street site reopened in 2024 following a major overhaul.

Under Mr Ruis, John Lewis also helped bring Topshop back to the high street. The fast-fashion brand had disappeared following the collapse of Sir Philip Green's empire in 2020.

John Lewis said Mr Ruis would step down to "pursue new projects". Mr Kernan will take up the role in time for the peak Christmas trading period.

Mr Kernan's career in the retail sector spans four decades, with senior roles at brands including The White Company and New Look.

Most recently, he has served as chairman of high-end furniture and kitchen retailer Neptune.

Mr Kernan said: "Having served on the partnership's board for three years, I have a clear understanding of the John Lewis business and a huge appreciation for the partnership's values and employee-ownership model.

"We have significant headroom for growth and I'm looking forward to leading the team to ensure John Lewis remains the country's most trusted and loved retailer, in store and online."

Separately, the chairman of the Co-op also stepped down after a turbulent two years dominated by a cyber attack and bullying accusations against its former chief executive.

Debbie White said it had been a period of "both opportunity and challenge" as her departure was announced on Monday.

The Co-op suffered a £206m hit to revenues from a crippling cyber attack that left its shelves empty last year.

Its boss at the time, Shirine Khoury-Haq, later resigned after she was accused of presiding over a "toxic culture" .

Ms White's departure leaves the Co-op without a permanent chairman or chief executive. Ms White will be replaced as interim chairman by Moni Mannings, a non-executive director at the group, while a permanent successor is sought.

Ms White said: "Despite a variety of headwinds facing our businesses, and the impact of last year's malicious cyber-attack, it is clear that the actions that we have taken are having a positive impact and will ensure we have the strong foundations to deliver on our vision and strategy.

"As our position strengthens, and with the process to appoint a permanent group CEO underway, I feel that it is the right time to step down as chair as I near the end of my first term on the board, as I am not in a position to commit to a further three-year term as chair at this time."

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