John Lewis charters ships to ensure Christmas stock arrives

John Lewis is chartering a fleet of extra ships, along with a number of other businesses, to make sure it has Christmas stock on time.

Retailers have been grappling with a host of supply chain problems from driver shortages to shipping delays.

John Lewis chair Sharon White said the business was throwing everything at the issues to make sure Christmas would not be disrupted.

The retailer recorded a pre-tax loss of £29m for the six months to 31 July.

That compares with a £635m loss for the same period last year. Sales for the group rose by 6%, aided by strong demand for homeware, fashion, nursery furnishing and Waitrose online grocery sales.

Earlier this week, the retailer announced plans to recruit more than 7,000 temporary workers for the winter.

"We're acting hard and we're acting fast to make sure we can still deliver a fantastic sparkly Christmas to our customers," Ms White told the BBC.

She added that the department store chain had introduced a host of measures to help manage labour shortages: "We've raised wages for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers and we're really beginning to see the results of that."

However, the much-publicised annual John Lewis Christmas TV commercial will be delayed by two weeks.