John Lewis is far from in a flap, despite these lousy figures | Nils Pratley

Back in the 1990s the partnership was in a mess. Today’s woes look tame by comparisonA crisis at the John Lewis Partnership? A plunge of 99% in first-half profits to just £1.2m looks terrible, but it’s not like the late 1990s. Back then, there was a proper mess. John Lewis was seen as inward-looking, bureaucratic and unable to keep pace with modern retailing. Survival seemed at stake. At head office they even wondered whether to abandon employee ownership and become a regular p