John Lewis Hopes that former Tesco boss will speed up retail revival

Jason Tarry started his first day as chairman of the John Lewis Partnership yesterday with a full in-tray, after his predecessor, Sharon White, handed over control.

- Sarah Butler

The former Tesco executive will be hoping to accelerate a nascent turnaround at the business, which owns the Waitrose supermarket chain and 34 department stores, sufficient to announce the first annual staff bonus in three years in March next year.

Tarry brings significant retail experience to the role, with three decades spent with Tesco after joining its graduate scheme. At Britain's biggest retailer, he cut costs and jobs - and helped the former chief executive Dave Lewis's turnaround after an accounting scandal.

Last week, the partnership's chief executive, Nish Kankiwala, claimed "the buzz is back" as he announced that half-year pretax losses had almost halved amid a recovery at the group's supermarkets that offset falling sales at its department stores.

However, Kankiwala did not commit to the return of the annual reward for the mutual's partners as staff are known, as they jointly own the business - which they last received in 2022.