John Lewis hit by voucher shortage

Retail business John Lewis Partnership has experienced a gift voucher shortage after the printing company it used collapsed, the worker co-operative has confirmed.

Some stores operated by the retail giant faced "difficulties" with gift voucher supply and were forced to use reserves kept in stock, after security print company BemroseBooth folded in June, according to a report in Retail Week magazine.

The shortfall had come during the crucial summer wedding season - a key time for voucher sales.

A spokeswoman said that none of the John Lewis department stores had completely run out of vouchers, but Waitrose, the supermarket chain under the employee-owned group, has had to switch stock of vouchers between stores to meet demands.

The group said: "This situation has been mitigated by the use of reserve stock kept on hand specifically for such purposes and as a result we have been able to continue to meet customer requirements.

"We are pleased to say that we have found another supplier and hope to have new vouchers available shortly."

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