Leadership: The Strategic Challenges Facing John Lewis' New Managing Director

Paula Nickolds has been appointed the new Managing Director of John Lewis Partnership. A career-long partner at JLP, Paula Nickolds is the first woman to lead the business in its 150+ year history.

It's no surprise given the strong organisational culture at JLP that an internal appointment has been made. And by all accounts in the media, Paula Nickolds is well-placed to handle the strategic challenges facing the business. She is highly-regarded, has a strong commercial and marketing orientation and is deeply-grounded in the unique partnership culture at JLP.

This article in the Guardian highlights five strategic issues that are likely to be a focus of Ms Nicold's early weeks when she takes over after the crucial 2016 Christmas trading period.

These can be summarised as:

• The growth of online shopping, taking share from traditional department store shopping;
• A significant recent fall in profits as a result of greater price competition and the need to invest further in online capabilities;
• The impact of higher online sales on the cost structure and returns from high street retailing;
• Possible declining motivation of JLP partners who have seen their annual profit-share bonus fall substantially recently;
• Where revenue growth will come from in an increasingly hostile competitive and economic environment

It won't be easy for Nickolds and her team. But. given the positive culture and other competitive strengths of JLP, I'd back the business to perform well during her period in charge.