Informing staff about the latest sales figures, good or bad, is vital to keep communication flowing in the downturn, according to Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership.

The group, which runs the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, is owned by its employees, known as partners, and publishes weekly reports on sales which go to all staff and are publicly available. The middle weeks of November showed a 10-15 per cent decline on the same time last year.