The Impact of Brexit on the Profitability of John Lewis in the UK

The impact if Brexit on the
profitability of John Lewis in the
UK

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
DATA COLLECTION APPROACH..............................................................................................8
RESEARCH LIMITATION............................................................................................................9
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......................................................................................................9
RECOMMENDATION...................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Brexit is a situation when UK withdrawal from European Union and European Atomic
Energy Community. This research is based on the impact of Brexit on the profitability of
business. The chosen organisation for this project is John Lewis, it is a departmental store that
operates their business in Great Britain. The brand was founded in 1864 by John Lewis. They
generally targets upper and middle class people of age between 30 to 40.
Research Aim
“To identify the impact of Brexit on the profitability of business”. A study on John Lewis
Research Objective
 To determine the concept of Brexit and it affects on overall activities and functioning of
business
 To identify the impact of Brexit on the profitability and performance of John Lewis
 To discern the opportunities which are grabbed by John Lewis in post Brexit period
 To determine the key business challenges which are faced by John Lewis at the time of
Brexit
Research Questions
 What is the concept of Brexit and how it affects the overall activities and functioning of
business?
 What is the impact of Brexit on the profitability and performance of John Lewis?
 What are the opportunities which are grabbed by John Lewis in post Brexit period?
 What are the key business challenges which are faced by John Lewis at the time of
Brexit?

LITERATURE REVIEW
Areas of Failure
Disruption in supply chain:
It is one of the impact which is created by Brexit on business, it influences the supply
chain and business operation cost (Roscoe and et. al., 2020). Brexit has created a great impact on
the business as it increases the amount of material which is required for processing,
manufacturing and supplying the products and services. Organisation generally stockpiled before
Brexit for skipping tariff for importing EU goods. In order to continue good relation between EU
and UK business, it is necessary to offer transparency about any changes on tariffs. John Lewis
faced issues regarding the disruption of supply chain as they were not able to fulfil the need and
demand of customers in effective and efficient manner.
Decrease in EU workers:
Decrease in EU workers is another challenge which is faced by John Lewis in Brexit
period. The situation of Brexit has created a great impact on workers due to the end of freedom
of movement between EU and UK. Due to this issue, business won't rely on cheap labours and
also John Lewis has to invest in existing employees and apprenticeships (Ridgway, 2019).
Current trends and competition at that time
Digitalisation:
Digitalisation is one of the trend and competition at the time of Brexit. Digital technology
helps company to reduce the Brexit burden. It provides more hassle free and cost effective way
to run the business in significant manner in the tough time of Brexit. John Lewis is adopting
digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics so that they can run the operation
activities in effective and efficient way (Rodríguez, Paredes and Yi, 2016).
Overseas Market:
Overseas market is another trend and competition at the time of pandemic, companies are
looking forward to improve their profitability and growth. The opportunity which is grabbed by
John Lewis at the time of UK withdrawal from EU is to trade globally. They can export goods
overseas in order to expand their reach and earn more and more profit. It also helps in increasing
the customer base by attracting maximum number of people (Sigarev and et. al., 2018). John
Lewis is focusing on expanding their business in other markets which helps in providing access
to export financing and longer product lifespan.