UK department stores chain John Lewis is undergoing a major and mostly positive restructure of its buying and merchandising teams across fashion and home. 

As part of a transformation programme under CEO Peter Ruis, the process will include adding 48 new roles, although consultations surrounding the future of 20 other positions are being conducted.

The news was first reported by Retail Week, which said the retail group is looking to re-establish individual buying and merchandising leadership positions across the fashion and home departments, it said.

And a John Lewis spokesperson added: “As we look to turbocharge our business and offer the best possible products to customers, we’ve proposed some changes to our buying and merchandising teams including the creation of nearly 50 new roles.”

It said the updated structure would also help related staff to focus on their specific area of expertise and provide clearer career progression.

The changes follow the return of Ruis to the retailer at the start of the year, a move that was praised with the installation of a leader with hands-on retail expertise being seen as crucial in the chain’s turnaround. 

In March, he introduced plans to enhance the department store’s fashion offer in a further bid to focus on improving profit margins. New labels added to its roster included fashion brand Hayley Menzies and beauty brand Sol de Janeiro.

The spokesman added: “We continue to trade in what is definitely a dynamic and volatile market with significant cost pressures. Customers are still cautious about discretionary spend, and in particular within home and around our big ticket items. But the transformation plan is showing the progress and I’m really confident we can grow this year from this more solid base.”