John Lewis has announced it is scrapping its chief executive position just weeks after Dame Sharon White exited the business.

The partnership said Nish Kankiwala, who became its first-ever chief executive in early 2023, would be stepping down from the role next March.

However, rather than seeking a replacement, John Lewis confirmed that Jason Tarry – who recently replaced Dame Sharon as chairman – will take over all executive responsibilities.

This means he will chair the executive team as well as the partnership board.

Mr Kankiwala said he had “every confidence in Jason taking the partnership from strength to strength in the next phase of our transformation”.

The announcement comes after Mr Tarry took over the chairman post from Dame Sharon earlier this month.

Her tenure as chairman, which began in the weeks before the pandemic hit, was dogged with criticism in recent years, including claims that she lacked the required retail experience after joining the business from regulator Ofcom.

Her predecessor Sir Charlie Mayfield previously said it was right for the partnership to go for a non-conventional choice, as “these are not conventional retail times, nor is the partnership a conventional company”.

However, Dame Sharon was forced to make tough decisions during the pandemic, including closing stores.

More recently, questions had centred on the direction she was taking the partnership, including her attempts to shift away from the high street to focus increasingly on rental housing and financial services.

She had been the driving force behind the partnership setting a target of making 40pc of its profit from outside retail by 2030.

However, workers had increasingly started to question her strategy as John Lewis was hit by mounting losses.

Challenges across the business led to staff not receiving their annual bonus over three of the past four years.

The partnership brought in Mr Kankiwala on a two-year contract in March 2023, tasking the turnaround expert with restoring profits.

He has since rolled back the company’s diversification strategy by scrapping the target for revenue outside retail and sought to plough investment back into its department stores, including Waitrose.

The company said in August it would be opening its first Waitrose stores in six years, with plans to invest £1bn in new and existing sites over the next three years.

It has come amid signs that the turnaround push is paying off. Earlier this year, the partnership returned to profit for the first time since before the pandemic.

This led to Mr Kankiwala claiming that the retailer had “its buzz back” ahead of the crucial Christmas period.

Speaking last month, Mr Kankiwala said the company was on track to hit £400m of profit by January 2028, adding: “There’s still much more to do with tremendous potential for the partnership. But as customers told me recently in a shop, the buzz is back at the John Lewis partnership.”

He will now be returning to a non-executive position where he will advise the partnership board and Mr Tarry.

Rita Clifton, the deputy chairman of the partnership, said: “We created the CEO role at the beginning of 2023 because of the scale of the transformation and intense level of commercial focus needed in such unprecedented market circumstances.

“We are deeply grateful that he agreed, and for all that he has delivered for the partnership in this particular phase of our transformation.”

Mr Tarry is viewed as a major coup for the partnership. Prior to joining John Lewis, he had served as Tesco’s UK chief executive.

The latest announcement will settle the debate over how Mr Tarry and Mr Kankiwala will share the management of the John Lewis Partnership, given both have executive experience.

Mr Tarry said: “It’s a pleasure to work alongside Nish and I’m grateful that he has agreed to stay on as a non-executive board adviser and his ongoing support will be invaluable.”