The John Lewis Partnership has reinstated its staff bonus for the first time in four years, awarding employees a 2 per cent payout after a modest improvement in sales and underlying profits.

The decision marks a symbolic milestone for the employee-owned retailer, which has spent the past several years navigating pandemic disruption, rising costs and intense competition across the UK retail sector.

The partnership, which operates 36 John Lewis department stores and around 320 Waitrose supermarkets, reported profit before tax and exceptional items of £134 million for the year to the end of January. That represents a modest improvement from £126 million the previous year.

However, statutory results told a different story. The group recorded a statutory loss before tax of £21 million, compared with a £97 million profit a year earlier, largely due to one-off costs including the write-down of legacy technology systems.

Despite the accounting loss, the improvement in underlying performance was enough for management to restore the long-awaited bonus for its 70,000 employee-owners, known internally as partners.

Overall group sales increased 5 per cent year-on-year to £13.4 billion, reflecting stronger trading across both of the partnership’s main retail brands.

The grocery arm Waitrose delivered the strongest performance, with sales rising 7 per cent to £8.5 billion, supported by a 3 per cent increase in volumes as the supermarket chain attracted more shoppers.

Meanwhile the John Lewis department store business reported sales growth of 3 per cent to £4.9 billion, as the retailer sought to stabilise its position in a competitive market increasingly shaped by online platforms, fast-fashion brands and discount rivals.

Despite the improving figures, the company warned that several cost pressures continued to weigh on its overall profitability.

The partnership said profits were “held back” by £53 million of headwinds, including the recent rise in employer national insurance contributions, the introduction of the extended producer responsibility levy, and cautious consumer spending during the Christmas period.

For many employees, the reinstatement of the annual bonus carries symbolic importance after a prolonged period without payouts.

The John Lewis Partnership traditionally shares a proportion of its profits with staff through an annual bonus that has historically been one of the retailer’s defining features.

However, bonuses were suspended during the pandemic after lockdown restrictions forced store closures and significantly reduced revenue.

The freeze began in 2020, marking the first suspension of the bonus since 1953.

Although the payment briefly returned in 2022 at 3 per cent, it was subsequently cancelled again as the company battled losses and undertook a major restructuring programme.

In previous decades the bonus had been far more generous. During the late 1980s employees received payouts worth as much as 24 per cent of annual salary, reflecting the retailer’s stronger profitability at the time.

The newly announced 2 per cent bonus therefore represents a cautious step toward restoring one of the partnership’s most distinctive traditions.

The decision comes under the leadership of Jason Tarry, the former Tesco UK boss who became chairman of the John Lewis Partnership in September 2024.

Tarry has been tasked with reviving the fortunes of the historic retailer following years of declining profits, store closures and strategic missteps.

Under his leadership the company has begun refocusing on its core retail operations, reversing earlier efforts to diversify into areas such as property development.

One notable change was the decision to abandon the partnership’s controversial build-to-rent housing strategy, which had planned to construct rental homes on land owned by Waitrose supermarkets.

The retailer said shifting economic conditions, including higher interest rates and construction costs, meant the project no longer met its investment criteria.

Instead, the partnership is doubling down on retail, committing to £800 million of investment across its stores as part of a long-term plan to improve customer experience, modernise shops and strengthen its digital capabilities.

Tarry said the early signs suggested the company’s new “retail-first strategy” was starting to deliver improvements.

“Our multi-year plan to invest in customers and our brands for the long term is working,” he said.

“We have grown customer numbers and achieved record satisfaction. We remain on track to make further progress this year.”

The partnership said its improved financial position, including stronger liquidity and relatively low levels of external borrowing, meant it could continue investing in its transformation plans despite the uncertain economic outlook.

Management believes the strategy will allow the business to win back shoppers, strengthen brand loyalty and unlock growth opportunities across both Waitrose and John Lewis.

Despite the restoration of the bonus, executives struck a cautious tone about the wider economic environment.

Tarry warned that the retail sector remained challenged by weak consumer confidence, rising operating costs and intense competition, describing the market conditions as “subdued”.

The partnership said it remained “well positioned to navigate the challenging macroeconomic environment”, but acknowledged that further work was required to restore the company to sustained profitability.

“We are confident in making further steps forward in the year ahead as we progress our multi-year transformation,” Tarry said.

For the wider retail industry, the return of the John Lewis bonus carries symbolic significance.

The partnership’s employee-owned model has long been held up as an example of profit-sharing and staff engagement within British retail, with bonuses traditionally seen as a reward for collective performance.

After several difficult years marked by restructuring, store closures and rising competition from online rivals, the reinstatement of the bonus is being viewed internally as a sign that the retailer’s turnaround efforts may finally be gaining traction.

While the payout remains modest compared with historic levels, the return of the bonus suggests the partnership is beginning to regain stability after one of the most challenging periods in its 162-year history.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

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The share sale, which comes amid choppy market conditions and challenges in the shipping or maritime industry due to the Middle East conflict, will help the promoters meet the minimum public shareholding norms, they told PTI.

Investor road shows for the sale, which will see the promoter group divest about 5.01 per cent stake, have already begun, they said.

Once the road shows end this week, the floor price for the issue will be decided, they said.

JM Financial has been appointed as the merchant banker for the proposed share sale, the sources added.

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In an exchange filing on Monday, Swan Defence and Heavy Industries said its promoter Hazel Infra has proposed to sell approximately 5.01 per cent of the company’s equity shares through the offer-for-sale route via the stock exchange mechanism, in line with circulars issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Emails sent to Swan Defence and Heavy Industries and JM Financial remained unanswered till the time of publishing the story.Swan Defence operates the Pipavav shipyard facility, which was earlier owned by the bankrupt Reliance Naval and Engineering. The company currently has a market capitalisation of around Rs 12,000 crore.

Hazel Infra is a special purpose vehicle floated by Swan Energy for taking over Reliance Naval and Engineering from insolvency resolution.

Swan Energy holds 74 per cent in Hazel Infra and the remaining 26 per cent is held by Hazel Mercantile, in which Swan is a strategic investor.

Swan Group has interests in the textiles, real estate, oil and gas and petrochemical sectors.

The Swan Defence scrip, which had witnessed some selling after the OFS announcement, gained 4.99 per cent to close the session at Rs 2,285.05 a piece on the BSE on Thursday.

The rebound comes after years of losses and battered investor confidence, with the stock losing half of ‌its value last ⁠year as ⁠growth in the online dating market slowed amid stiff competition.

CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd is betting that a revamped product could reinvigorate growth and appeal to younger users who complain of swiping fatigue.

The company is preparing to launch Bumble 2.0 that uses artificial intelligence to enhance quick photo swipes with a scrollable profile of short chapters that outline a user’s interests, lifestyle ⁠and personality. ‌Herd also said that Bumble could experiment with a “no-swipe” experience in some markets.

Analysts, however, struck a cautious note on the ⁠degree to which the redesign would turn around Bumble’s fortunes. ​They are watching for signs of “meaningful innovation” in an ​industry that has seen little change since the swipe-based design became standard.

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The dating category has had “multiple false starts”, analysts at Jefferies said. “While early signs of stabilization are encouraging, we need to see a more sustained improvement to turn constructive.”
Dating applications like Match Group’s Hinge are also rolling out AI-powered ‌tools aimed at improving user experience to win back younger users as dating apps race to adapt to shifting preferences.Bumble reported ​fourth-quarter revenue ​of $224.2 million, topping analysts’ ⁠estimates of $221.3 million, while average revenue per paying user jumped 7.9% to $22.20. Its performance-marketing spend dropped more than 80% year-on-year.

Raymond James analysts said near-term momentum for ​Bumble still depends on stabilizing paid users and proving that the post-reset ecosystem can grow without heavy reliance on paid acquisition.

The stock trades at 3.55 times its projected earnings for the next 12 months, compared with 11.05 times for the Match Group.

Young workers could be among the biggest casualties of the government’s new workers’ rights legislation, with retailers warning the reforms risk worsening Britain’s growing youth unemployment problem.

Industry leaders say the Employment Rights Act, which recently received royal assent, could lead employers to scale back flexible and entry-level roles as businesses adjust to higher employment costs and tighter regulation. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) argues that the changes could unintentionally restrict opportunities for younger workers who often rely on part-time or flexible jobs as their first step into employment.

The warning comes as youth unemployment continues to climb across the UK. Official forecasts suggest overall unemployment could reach 5.3 per cent this year, while joblessness among younger people has already reached its highest level in more than a decade.

Former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn, who is currently leading a government-commissioned review into youth employment and economic inactivity, has described the situation as an “existential crisis” for Britain, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing policymakers.

Retail leaders fear the new employment rules could discourage companies from offering the type of flexible roles that many younger people depend on.

The legislation introduces a number of significant workplace reforms, including giving workers on zero-hours and low-hours contracts the right to request guaranteed working hours. It also introduces day-one eligibility for statutory sick pay, shortens the qualification period for unfair dismissal protections, and makes it easier for workers to secure trade union recognition.

While the government argues the measures will improve job security for millions of workers, the BRC says they may create additional costs and administrative complexity for employers, particularly in sectors that rely heavily on flexible staffing models.

Retailers warn that if businesses respond by reducing hiring or limiting flexible contracts, entry-level positions may be the first roles to disappear.

“Local, flexible jobs are important first steps into work for young people across the country,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium. “Whether it is a Saturday job around studies or shifts alongside caring responsibilities, these roles are relied upon and valued by many.”

She added that with youth unemployment already rising, policymakers must ensure reforms tackle poor employment practices without choking off opportunities for younger workers entering the labour market.

The retail sector plays a crucial role in providing early work opportunities for younger people.

According to industry data, around 780,000 retail jobs are held by workers aged between 16 and 25, representing roughly 28 per cent of the sector’s workforce.

These roles often include part-time shifts, weekend work or seasonal employment that can be combined with education, training or other commitments.

A survey commissioned by the BRC found that 70 per cent of people aged 18 to 29 consider flexibility in working hours to be important, rising to nearly three-quarters among those in part-time employment.

By comparison, only 52 per cent of adults overall rated flexible work as a key priority.

Retailers say this demonstrates how critical flexible employment is for younger workers balancing education, family responsibilities or early career exploration.

The industry warns that if employers become reluctant to offer flexible arrangements because of regulatory or financial pressures, Gen Z workers could lose a vital pathway into the workforce.

Concerns over the Employment Rights Act come amid broader tensions between retailers and the government over the rising cost of employment.

Businesses have already criticised increases to employer national insurance contributions and the national living wage, which were introduced as part of Labour’s first autumn budget.

Many employers argue that the combined effect of higher payroll taxes, wage increases and new workplace regulation is creating a more difficult hiring environment.

During an appearance before the Commons Treasury Select Committee, Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged criticism surrounding the national insurance increase, saying there was a “valid argument” that it could have been avoided.

However, Reeves defended the decision, stating that the tax rise helped fund improvements to the NHS and reduce waiting lists.

Retail leaders remain concerned that further cost increases could slow recruitment, particularly in sectors with tight margins and large workforces.

The debate over workers’ rights legislation comes at a time when youth employment is already under scrutiny.

Recent official figures suggest nearly one million people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Economists and labour market experts warn that prolonged periods outside work or education can have lasting effects on young people’s future earnings, skills development and career prospects.

Retail and hospitality sectors have historically provided entry-level roles that help young people gain experience, build confidence and develop transferable workplace skills.

If those opportunities shrink, experts fear it could make it harder for young people to enter the labour market and progress into long-term careers.

Despite industry concerns, ministers insist the legislation will ultimately strengthen the labour market rather than weaken it.

A government spokesperson said supporting young people into employment remains a priority, pointing to the ongoing review led by Alan Milburn.

The government argues the Employment Rights Act will improve job security for more than 18 million workers, including younger employees who are often overrepresented in insecure or low-paid work.

Officials also maintain that businesses will still be able to offer flexible working arrangements where both employer and employee agree.

“The Employment Rights Act will boost employment and improve job security for over 18 million workers, with young people among the biggest winners,” the spokesperson said.

“It will not mean businesses have to reduce their flexible roles and employers and employees will continue to be able to agree hours that suit them best.”

The debate highlights the broader challenge facing policymakers: how to improve employment protections without discouraging job creation.

Supporters of the legislation argue stronger rights will create fairer and more stable workplaces, helping to address insecure employment practices that have grown in parts of the economy.

Critics, however, warn that well-intentioned reforms could have unintended consequences, particularly for younger workers seeking their first job.

With youth unemployment rising and economic growth remaining modest, the effectiveness of the reforms may ultimately depend on whether businesses continue to create accessible entry-level roles.

For many young people entering the workforce, those first opportunities could prove decisive in shaping their long-term career prospects.

Jamie Young

Jamie is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, bringing over a decade of experience in UK SME business reporting.
Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration and regularly participates in industry conferences and workshops.

When not reporting on the latest business developments, Jamie is passionate about mentoring up-and-coming journalists and entrepreneurs to inspire the next generation of business leaders.

Chris Jackman, Attorney of Washington State, built his firm with a clear mission and a narrow focus. He started with a single office in Seattle and a commitment to represent fathers in family law matters at moments when their families and futures felt uncertain. Twelve years later, that firm has expanded into Washington State, Colorado, and Texas, with six active lawyers and more than twenty staff members serving clients across multiple jurisdictions.

Growth in the legal profession often comes at a cost. As firms expand, founders lose direct contact with clients. Communication slows. Standards blur. Culture becomes a slogan rather than a lived reality. Jackman approached expansion differently. From the beginning, he treated scale not as a race for size but as an operational challenge that required deliberate systems, cultural clarity, and leadership discipline.

The result is a multi-state practice that continues to grow while maintaining a reputation for responsiveness and individualized attention.

Building Infrastructure Before Expansion

Jackman’s firm rests on three core values: staying customer-focused and obsessed, taking complete ownership of one’s work, and creating a culture that respects and rewards excellence. Those values are not decorative language on a website. They are embedded in daily operations.

One of the firm’s most explicit standards is a strict 24-hour communication policy. Clients receive responses within 24 hours of reaching out about the status of their case. In family law, where clients are often emotionally overwhelmed and anxious about outcomes they cannot fully control, responsiveness is not a courtesy. It is part of the service itself.

That communication rule does more than reassure clients. It sets an internal expectation. Every team member knows that silence is unacceptable. Delays require explanation. Ownership is personal, not collective. Jackman frequently reminds his team that when everyone is accountable, no one is. Responsibility must be clear and assigned.

This emphasis on systems over improvisation is central to how he thinks about scaling. He often tells his team that mistakes are human. The more important question is why the mistake occurred. Was there a process? Was there a defined system? If not, the solution is structural, not emotional. Build the system, and the mistake is less likely to recur.

Many founder-led firms plateau because the founder remains the central hub of every decision. Jackman has been explicit about avoiding that trap. Firms that scale successfully, in his view, understand how to delegate, how to hold people accountable, and how to recruit talented professionals who can operate within a defined framework.

Delegation without standards creates chaos. Standards without delegation create bottlenecks. His approach combines both.

A Leadership Philosophy Rooted in Ownership

Chris Jackman, Attorney of Washington State, is known primarily as the owner and managing attorney of The Jackman Law Firm, often described as America’s Premier Father’s Rights Law Firm. He has tried cases before juries and judges, arbitrated more than a hundred matters, and mediated hundreds more. That courtroom experience shapes his leadership style.

He is direct. He tells clients what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear. He expects the same candor inside the firm. Truth-telling, even when uncomfortable, is part of maintaining standards.

This philosophy influences hiring and training. Young professionals entering law, in his view, often struggle with difficult conversations and holding others accountable. He sees the ability to engage in honest, sometimes tough dialogue as a differentiator in high-stakes advisory work.

Inside a growing firm, that skill becomes operationally significant. Lawyers must set expectations with clients. Managers must address performance gaps. Team members must escalate issues before they become crises. A culture that avoids hard conversations cannot scale cleanly.

Jackman reinforces an ownership mindset at every level. Each team member is responsible not only for their technical work but also for how that work fits into the broader client experience. A missed call, an unclear email, or an unaddressed question is not a minor lapse. It is a failure of ownership.

The discipline required to sustain that mindset across multiple states does not happen by accident. It requires repeatable training, internal review, and constant reinforcement from leadership.

Protecting the Client Experience During Growth

Family law clients frequently arrive in an emotional state. They feel overwhelmed, uncertain, and fatigued by conflict. Jackman has developed a consistent framework for helping them slow down. He asks them to project themselves three years into the future and consider how they will view their current crisis.

That perspective shift does two things. It stabilizes the client emotionally, and it clarifies the strategy. Decisions are framed around long-term outcomes rather than short-term reactions.

Scaling a firm that handles such sensitive matters requires more than legal competence. It requires a standardized approach to client psychology. Every lawyer in the firm must understand how to guide clients away from impulsive decisions and toward measured, forward-looking thinking.

Jackman has worked to codify these approaches so they are not dependent on his personal presence in every conversation. Scripts, training discussions, and internal case reviews reinforce how clients should be counseled. This is how a firm maintains a personal touch without requiring the founder to personally handle every intake call.

The firm’s growth into Washington State, Colorado, and Texas did not dilute this philosophy. Expansion required identifying attorneys who could internalize the firm’s standards and apply them consistently across jurisdictions.

Treating a Law Firm as a Business

Early in his career, Jackman did not view the legal field as particularly creative. That perspective changed. He encourages his team to think outside the traditional boundaries of law firm operations and to see the firm as a business rather than simply a practice.

This mindset has influenced branding, communication, and technology adoption. The firm experimented with social media as a branding and communication tool, discovering that it strengthened the authenticity of its public voice and clarified its core values.

Creativity, in this context, is not about novelty for its own sake. It is about identifying better ways to serve clients and operate efficiently. Jackman balances that creativity with practicality. He encourages innovation but insists that ideas remain grounded in operational reality.

His perspective on artificial intelligence reflects that balance. Some legal professionals resist AI entirely. Others overestimate its capabilities. He sees it as a tool, neither blindly trusted nor dismissed, to enhance performance when used responsibly.

This measured approach to technology is part of the infrastructure story. Scaling across states requires document management systems, communication platforms, and standardized workflows that can support a growing team. Technology becomes an enabler of consistency.

Avoiding the Founder Dependency Trap

One of the clearest distinctions between firms that scale and those that stall, according to Jackman, is whether the founder can step back from daily control.

In the early days of a firm, the founder touches everything. Intake, court appearances, billing, hiring. That hands-on involvement can create a strong culture but also a fragile one. If the founder remains the bottleneck, growth becomes unsustainable.

Jackman’s expansion from a single Seattle office to a multi-state firm required intentional separation between vision and execution. Systems define expectations. Managers enforce them. Attorneys operate within them. The founder sets direction and reinforces standards rather than personally handling every operational detail.

This structural clarity allows the firm to pursue its stated goal of continued expansion, including a long-term vision of serving fathers nationwide. Ambition without infrastructure is risky. Infrastructure without ambition is stagnant. His strategy attempts to combine both.

Culture as a Competitive Advantage

Legal services are often perceived as commoditized. Many firms offer similar practice areas, similar fee structures, and similar marketing language. Jackman differentiates through culture and clarity.

He challenges clients to focus on what they can control rather than external biases or perceived unfairness in the system. He challenges team members to confront mistakes with process improvements rather than defensiveness. He challenges young professionals to develop the courage to have difficult conversations.

These patterns reinforce a coherent identity. Clients experience a firm that responds promptly, speaks candidly, and operates within defined standards. Employees experience clear expectations and accountability.

For Chris Jackman, Attorney of Washington State, scale has never meant abstraction. It has meant repetition. Repeat the standards. Repeat the systems. Repeat the ownership mindset. The personal touch is preserved not through constant founder presence but through institutionalized values.

As the firm continues to expand beyond its Seattle origins and deeper into multi-state operations, the central question remains the same: can growth and intimacy coexist? Jackman’s answer has been to treat operational excellence as the bridge between the two. When systems are strong, communication is disciplined, and culture is enforced daily, a mission-driven law firm can grow without losing the very qualities that made it distinctive in the first place.

McDonald’s is doubling down on its “McValue” menu as the fast-food giant acknowledges that years of post-pandemic price hikes have left many Americans feeling priced out of a basic burger and fries.

In an internal message to franchisees, the world’s largest burger chain announced a sweeping “McValue 2.0” initiative set to launch in April, featuring $3 items and $4 meal deals designed to lure back lower-income consumers who have pulled back on spending because of persistently high living costs.

“We have achieved incredible progress together and remain committed to meeting ever-changing customer needs,” McDonald’s wrote in a message to chain franchisees obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

McDONALD’S C.E.O. ROASTED AFTER HIS TINY FIRST BITE OF NEW BIG ARCH BURGER GOES VIRAL

The new menu items will replace the previous buy-one-add-one promotions. Customers can soon pay $3 or less for items including 4-piece Chicken McNuggets or a Sausage Biscuit, and $4 for breakfast meal deals with a McMuffin sandwich, hash brown and coffee.

A person enters a McDonald’s restaurant on Broadway on June 11, 2025, in New York City. (Getty Images)

Internal memos reportedly showed a “unanimous alignment” between the corporation and franchisees, who set their own prices, to address the affordability gap at McDonald’s. Stores are expected to begin training employees on the new deals in the coming weeks.

“We absolutely are going to make sure that we are protecting our leadership position in value,” CEO Chris Kempczinski during a February investor call.

Fox News previously reported that McDonald’s prices have risen sharply post-pandemic, with millennials especially vocal on social media about how much menu costs have increased since their childhoods.

A social media user shared a viral graphic claiming a McDonald’s feast once cost about $12 total — with medium fries at 99 cents, a cheeseburger at 79 cents and a Big Mac at $1.85. The post also said a Filet-O-Fish sold for $1.29 in 1991 and a medium drink for 89 cents.

Last year, the company capitalized on its $5 meal deal, various holiday promotions and the revival of its Monopoly sweepstakes. The strategy appeared to work as U.S. sales rose 6.8% in the fourth quarter, the biggest jump in about two years, as lower-priced offers and aggressive promotions drove traffic back into restaurants. Analysts had expected a 4.9% gain.

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Kempczinski also said there is growing evidence the company’s value push is working, particularly among lower-income consumers who have been most affected by inflation.

McDonald’s recently ranked No. 10 on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 annual list, which evaluates costs, fees, size, growth, support, brand strength and financial stability. The 2026 report marks McDonald’s first Top 10 appearance since 2020, when it placed No. 3. The chain ranked No. 22 in 2025 rankings.

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Fox News’ Andrea Margolis and FOX Business’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.