'Market conditions were really tough', says John Lewis boss
The retail partnership John Lewis, has reported a fall in annual profits and cut its staff bonus for the first time in three years.
The company says profits were held back by greater investment and by matching prices of competitors.
Profit before tax and bonuses was £353.8m for the year to 28 January, down 3.8% from the previous year.
The bonus pool for the firm's workers was £165.2m or 14% of salary, down from 18% last year.
However, the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, Charlie Mayfield told the BBC's Nigel Cassidy he believes "we will see the trajectory of the UK economy shifting this year from a decline into slow growth".
07 Mar 2012