John Lewis and Waitrose lose 124 million pounds due to heat waves

The John Lewis Partnership saw its losses rise sharply in the first half of the year. According to the owner of the British retail chains John Lewis and Waitrose , ongoing investments, higher costs, and cautious consumers are weighing on its results.

Costly heat waves

The half-year ended with a pre-tax loss of 124 million British pounds (145 million euros), compared to 88 million pounds (103 million euros) in the same period of 2025. The group, which operates 36 department stores and more than 300 Waitrose supermarkets, attributes the decline to “ongoing investments in our transformation, a more challenging retail environment, and the rising costs of doing business.” Chairman Jason Tarry made this statement during the presentation of the half-year results, according to The Guardian.