‘As JLP’s Kankiwala steps back, will he be the retailer’s last chief executive as well as its first?’

News of a retail chief executive’s surprise departure – especially during the all-important golden quarter – is frequently cause for concern.

Often it’s a belated sign that the business has gone to the dogs, or an admission that it’s too late to stop Christmas and the next year or two going the same way.

The departure from post of John Lewis Partnership chief executive Nish Kankiwala – only appointed less than two years ago, and the first person ever to hold that position at the co-owned business – may on the contrary be an indication that JLP is moving in the right direction.

For a start, Kankiwala isn’t being shown the door. He’ll be staying on at the retailer, certainly for the next several months, and will return to a non-executive job advising the Partnership board. Hardly the sort of thing that happens when someone hasn’t been up to the job.

Kankiwala apparently only took the chief executive role on an initial two-year basis. At that time the Partnership, which owns grocer Waitrose as well as the eponymous department stores division, was still mired in difficulties.

Eighteen months on, while it has not been fully turned around, the retailer is in much better shape. In Kankiwala’s own words as it was announced that he would revert to a non-executive role: “We’ve refreshed our Partnership strategy to be rooted in retail, significantly improved our cash flows to enable record investment for growth and returned the Partnership to full-year profit.”

On top of that, at the interims last month the business reported that full-year pre-exceptional profits “should be significantly above” last year’s £42m.

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Additionally, there have been important appointments in the time that Kankiwala has been chief executive. Peter Ruis has returned to run the John Lewis business. Crucially, former Tesco UK and Ireland boss Jason Tarry succeeded Sharon White as chair.

That means, along with Waitrose director James Bailey, there is now a stronger retail bench at the business. They also combine experience of John Lewis, with its own unique ways of doing things, with that of the wider retail environment – which Tarry brings in spades.

In this context, perhaps Kankiwala’s move is the type of surprise that isn’t so surprising.

“Perhaps Kankiwala’s move is the type of surprise that isn’t so surprising”

Had the circumstances been different – and had JLP not found a chair with such a wealth of retail experience – maybe Kankiwala would have stayed in post longer.

John Lewis is starting to fire on more cylinders again. Waitrose has been increasing sales ahead of the market, the most recent Kantar data showed. John Lewis is improving shops, introducing efficiencies that allow more focus on differentiators such as customer service, and has made a big splash with the well-received return of the Never Knowingly Undersold price pledge.

After a period during which the John Lewis Partnership seemed to have lost retail focus as it sought to build new sales and profit streams, it now appears to be moving at pace and determined to restore its traditional prowess.

That it is now in such a position is testament to Kankiwala. If he has laid the foundations of enduring success then his effectiveness as a chief executive may ultimately be evident not in the fact that he was John Lewis’s first, but that he is its last.