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| John Lewis warns of zero first-half profit | John Lewis warns of zero first-half profit |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| John Lewis Partnership, which owns John Lewis department stores and the Waitrose supermarket chain, has warned that profits in the first half of the year will be "close to zero". | |
| Last year the group made £26.6m in the first half, and blamed heavy investment for this year's expected fall. | |
| The company also warned over full-year profits, saying they could be "substantially lower" than last year. | |
| The retailer said its Waitrose chain would close five shops. | |
| Two Little Waitrose stores will close in Manchester, one in Birmingham and one in central London. It will also shut its supermarket in Camden in London. | |
| The company also said that from September the two brands would be renamed Waitrose & Partners and John Lewis & Partners. | |
| In a statement John Lewis said it was widely acknowledged that the retail sector was going through a period of "generational change". | |
| Its response would be to focus on "greater differentiation - not scale" and invest more in developing "unique" products and services, as well as placing more emphasis on its own brand. | |
| It said it would continue to invest at a rate of £400m-£500m per year. | |
| While it does not expect to make any profit in the first half of the year, for the full year it said there were a "wide range of possible outcomes, given the market uncertainty". | |
| However, it said it was assuming that profits before exceptional items would be "substantially lower" than last year. |