Chalk it up as a mini coup for the John Lewis Partnership. The next chair had to be a nuts-and-bolts operator with recent frontline retail experience, almost everybody agreed, and the employee-owned group has landed someone who fits the bill.
Jason Tarry spent 33 years at Tesco, the UK’s biggest retailer by a distance, and is regarded as having put in a successful six-year shift as head of its UK and Irish operations until he quit last autumn. He was there for the fightback after the 2014 accounting scandal, and was in charge during the wild Covid times for supermarkets.
Tarry, say those who know him, is the cuddlier type of ex-Tesco executive (they can exist), which may help in negotiating the partnership’s internal politics and democracy. But, on the safe assumption that you don’t survive as boss of the most important bit of the Tesco empire unless you keep the place brutally competitive, John Lewis couldn’t have done much better on the hiring front. A competitive edge is what the partnership needs after three years of losses and only a small profit last year. The game for the next few years is about the grind of supply chain efficiencies and investment in IT, analytics and customer service.
Tarry, like the incumbent, Dame Sharon White, will be a full-time chair, so there’s an obvious question of where Nish Kankiwala, the chief executive, fits. Giving him the job title a year ago, the first time it has been used at the partnership, made sense if White was to be followed by a non-executive chairman, but that’s not what’s happening. Will Kankiwala now become more of a chief operating officer?
“I’m looking forward to working with the board, Nish and the executive team,” said Tarry blandly in his pre-written statement. One assumes the two men have some sort of understanding on their different roles, but that doesn’t guarantee it will work in practice. Marks & Spencer’s experiment in having a chief executive and co-chief executive didn’t last long.
The more interesting detail in the statement was Tarry’s description of the partnership’s strategy as “clear”. And, yes, it’s definitely clearer since a month ago when White ditched the target of generating 40% of profits from non-retailing activities by 2030. The next question, though, is whether John Lewis, at whatever pace, still wants to build and own a portfolio of 10,000 buy-to-rent flats? Tesco’s recent experience, note, has been about concentrating on its core business and keeping extracurricular adventures to a minimum. That may be part of the reason why it is successful.
At least the build-to-rent distraction isn’t pressing. The priority is ensuring retail discipline in the stores and online, which, to be fair to White and Kankiwala, improved in the past year. History may also be kinder to White than the current reviews: she inherited an overexpanded business with little spare cash five years ago and is handing over an operation that can afford to boost investment to £542m this year, a 70% uplift from last year’s pauper’s ration.
But, when your most recent annual profits were £56m, and your definition of a “sustainable” return is £400m, it makes complete sense to hire a lifer from the top retailing academy. Provided he survives the culture shock, Tarry looks an intriguing hire.
