Peter Ruis, managing director of John Lewis, has announced he will step down from his position next month, less than three years after taking on the role. Ruis joined John Lewis in 2005 and returned in 2024 to lead the retailer’s turnaround following the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

During his tenure, Ruis oversaw significant investments and modernisation efforts aimed at strengthening the 161-year-old department store chain. “After nearly three years of significant investment and modernisation, the business is now on a much stronger footing,” he said. “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, and there is so much more still to come.”

Ruis’s departure comes amid warnings from Jason Tarry, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, about “really tough” trading conditions facing the retailer, which have jeopardised its efforts to stabilise and grow. The company experienced three consecutive years of losses before returning to profitability in 2023. However, in 2025, John Lewis reported a pre-tax loss of £21 million, a significant downturn from the £97 million pre-tax profit the previous year. To address these difficulties, the chain has closed some branches and reduced its workforce by approximately 3,300 jobs in the past year.

Will Kernan, former chief executive of fashion chain River Island and a John Lewis board member for three years, is set to replace Ruis as managing director.

In a related development within the retail sector, Debbie White has resigned as chairman of the Co-op. The organisation faced a revenue loss of £260 million last year due to a major cyber attack that disrupted supply chains and left shelves empty. Previously, the Co-op’s chief executive Shirine Khoury-Haq resigned amid allegations of overseeing a “toxic culture.”

White described her tenure as a period marked by “both opportunity and challenge.” Her departure leaves the Co-op without a permanent chairman or chief executive. In the interim, non-executive director Moni Manning will assume the role of chairman.