John Lewis chairman, Sir Charlie Mayfield, has announced his departure from the group in 2020.

The new chairman is set to be announced during the second half of 2019, and both internal and external candidates are being considered for the role.

Sir Mayfield has been in the role as of 2007. In 2014, he received his knighthood ‘for services to business’

Mayfield said: “Although my departure is still a considerable way off, the appointment of my successor is a key responsibility. It is for this reason I have decided to lay out the timetable now to enable an open and thorough process to select the next chairman of the partnership.”

It marks a difficult period for John Lewis. Last month the group reported a 99% fall in profits for the six months to July 28th.

The company blamed a turbulent economic environment for retail, largely in part due to Brexit uncertainty.

Due to the fall in profits over the course of the past year, John Lewis staff bonuses were cut for the fifth year in a row.

Elsewhere across retail, Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) posted a 2.2% fall in sales on Wednesday, causing shares to fall.

In particular, clothing fell 1.1%, whilst food sales were down a further 2.9%.