To think that Waitrose should pay back at least some of the business rates relief they received during lockdown?

[SupposeItCouldBeMe]

At least 6 other retailers have announced they will pay back some of the taxpayer money they received this year, I get that John Lewis has a different model with dept stores badly hit, but surely they should make a contribution based on the Waitrose stores trading throughout lockdown and presumably booming like other supermarkets?

I know there is no legal obligation for them to do so, but surely they can’t push their social responsibility credentials and then be the only major food retailer to take a big bailout without appearing morally empty? Also looking at M&S Food, although they don’t seem to make such a big thing of how they are supposedly an ethically run business.

@Madbengalmum

M&S have lots of financial problems with the rest of the business, food just about props the rest of it up, so I understand why they aren’t paying back. As for Waitrose, I don’t see why they aren’t paying back ,as John Lewis is a totally separate business.

^^This is Wrong. Waitrose and John Lewis are not totally separate businesses. They both form ‘The John Lewis Partnership’.

@Carrottop73

The point of a business diversifying (such as a department store like John Lewis moving into the supermarket trade) is so that when one area is performing well it can support the other side.

These rates reliefs are there so jobs can survive. If John Lewis uses this as a life line to survive and keep jobs then it is being used exactly as it is intended.

There are no fat cat shareholders in the John Lewis Partnership but a lot of good jobs for hard working partners.

I think the OP should take their moral compass and point it somewhere else.

You are correct and this has worked well for 100 years. However since the advent of Aldi, Lidl, online grocery shopping, Amazon, death of the high street, price wars, Covid etc the truth is that in the last 5 years BOTH arms have simultaneously struggled to make profit. Large JL stores have been closed and some are permanently closing with the potential loss of thousands of jobs. WR & JL are one entity. This is proved by the fact that profit (when there is any) is shared equally to all partners. Job security on both sides is absolutely not a given. The rates relief was given legally and fairly with no compunction to pay it back. Yes Waitrose have continued to trade throughout an extremely busy year, adapting in so many ways in an extremely challenging climate. OP - To imply supermarkets have somehow had it easy this year is, frankly, nonsense. Yes, I'm a WR Partner. HTH.

I don’t believe supermarkets have had it easy this year, they have faced a huge number of challenges and incurred massive costs to cope with covid. They have indeed ‘fed the nation’ during exceptional times.

But they have indisputably gained sales and profit - the published financial results of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose for the first half of their trading years all report sales growth of 7-10% which is unheard of in that sector. Tesco and Sainsbury’s also declare grocery profits to be up, although Waitrose don’t disclose these separately. Nothing wrong with that performance at all. But that is why it doesn’t feel right that they should take a big handout from the government that was targeted at businesses being closed, whether that is to pay a shareholder dividend in the case of Tesco etc, or to subsidise other parts of the John Lewis business that are already being (rightly) supported by the government.

There is clearly no compunction or legal reason to pay back, but I am surprised when companies like Pets at Home and Aldi are taking this course of action in light of booming trade ahead of Waitrose. Sainsbury’s has declared the rates relief payback is roughly equal to the lost sales in non food areas, yet it is going ahead anyway. Guess it does show the power of Tesco to force the hand of every other major grocery business - other than Co-op and Waitrose. And I’m not under any illusion that Tesco are doing this for altruist reasons, but I am glad they have set off a train of events that is resulting in 2bn being paid back by some businesses that have done well financially from covid.

Ok well we'll agree to differ then.
FWIW there will be no partner bonus this year as there will be no profit so rest assured that none of it is going in that direction.