The John Lewis retail group has shared doubt over whether or not its staff will receive their bonus after a fall in Christmas sales. In a surprise statement on Thursday, John Lewis & Partners also said its managing director, Paula Nickolds, who has been with the employee-owned retailer since 1994, will step down. Its partnership profits will be 'substantially down on last year', and the board will meet in February to decide if it's 'prudent' to pay staff a bonus. Chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield is also quitting, having announced his departure in November 2018, and will be replaced next month by outgoing Ofcom chief, Sharon White. Press Association said Sir Charlie had been asked several times whether he had fired Ms Nickolds, who was the first woman to become managing director of the partnership, but that he declined to comment. He said: "I'm not going into the detail of a personal conversation. "These changes (the restructuring announced in October)... are far bigger and greater than one individual whether that's me, or Paula. It has many, many different levels." However, talking to BBC News , the chairman said the decision for Ms Nickholds to step down was taken by both of them, and added: "Paula has been a brilliant leader of this business for many years." Her departure comes as the department store revealed gross sales at Christmas were down 2 per cent on a like-for-like basis. The departing boss was supposed to become the new executive director of brand - overseeing both divisions of the partnership - in a newly-created role which she was due to take up in February. John Lewis said: "After some reflection on the responsibilities of her proposed new role, we have decided together that the implementation of the future partnership structure in February is the right time for her to move on and she will leave the partnership with our gratitude and best wishes for the future. "At the full year, we expect profits in Waitrose & Partners to be broadly in line with last year. "In John Lewis & Partners, we will reverse the losses incurred in the first half of the year, but profits will be substantially down on last year. We therefore expect that partnership profit before exceptionals will be significantly lower than last year." Sir Charlie added: "The partnership board will meet in February to decide whether it is prudent to pay a partnership bonus. "The decision will be influenced by our level of profitability, planned investment and maintaining the strength of our balance sheet." Festive sale losses In March last year, the company revealed that staff bonuses would be just 3 per cent of annual pay - the lowest level since 1953 - after profits fell 45.4 per cent to just £160 million. Gross sales at the partnership in the seven weeks to January 4 were down 1.8 per cent compared with last year at £2.2 billion. Waitrose saw a 1.3pc fall in sales, due to store closures, but was up 0.4pc on a like-for-like basis. But at John Lewis,
