In the first six months of this year, the John Lewis Partnership achieved a "robust" sales growth with gross sales recorded at £4.73bn, a rise of 7.3% against the same period last year. The company's profit took a blow, however, due to a large payout of missed holiday payments.
The Partnership reported a profit of £115.8m, which is a £4.4m (3.9%) increase on the first half of 2012, but this is before tax and before deducting the huge cost of its recent holiday pay faux pas. The forgotten payments were highlighted in the review of its holiday pay policy and are costing the Partnership £47.3m to put right. As a result, pre-tax profit has dropped £43m from last year to £68.5m, down 38.5%.

However, the Partnership stated that both John Lewis and Waitrose reported a marked increase in their respective market shares.

With Waitrose aside, John Lewis reported gross sales of £1.71bn which is up £105m against last year. Meanwhile, operating profit was down 24% to £34.7m. But the retailer also pointed to a recognised positive change in its omni-channel presence, due partly to its upgraded website that went live in the first half of this year. In July, the company also re-launched its transactional mobile app and reported that sales via the app have grown quickly; it is now preparing for what it calls the UK's first "mobile Christmas".

In the Home category, John Lewis said its House brand helped to enhance its market position. It has also recently launched the 'Any Shape, Any Fabric' initiative, allowing customers to choose from hundreds of upholstery combinations for their new furniture.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of John Lewis Partnership, said: "Year-on-year, we grew our customer numbers by 6%, helped especially by initiatives such as myWaitrose and our market leading omni-channel offer in John Lewis.

"We are committed as a Partnership to developing our business for the long term, building the capabilities of our Partners and being innovative in products and services for our customers."