John Lewis has said it is "worried" about the impact of higher employment costs after Rachel Reeves's decision to increase the National Minimum Wage.
In a fresh warning to the Chancellor over measures announced in the Budget, a senior John Lewis director said inflated labour costs were weighing on the department store as it attempts to turn around its fortunes.
John Munnelly, the head of distribution at John Lewis, said he was concerned by the looming wage changes, given that the retailer employs 85,500 workers across its business.
When asked if John Lewis was worried about the National Minimum Wage increase, Mr Munnelly said: "We are. We've got to be honest. Everybody out there is worried about the National Minimum Wage and the Real Living Wage and being able to accommodate that."
It comes after the Chancellor last month signed off on a 6.7pc increase in the National Living Wage from April, taking it up to £12.21 an hour.
The National Minimum Wage for 18 to 20-year-olds is also going up by 16pc from to £10 an hour.
The increase in labour costs has come alongside a £25bn increase in employer National Insurance contributions, which has sparked fierce protests across the retail sector.
Naomi Simcock, the John Lewis operations director, said on Tuesday: "This is additional pressure in a market which is quite challenging at the moment."
It marks the latest in a series of warnings from retail leaders, which have said the Chancellor's plans make "job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty".
The British Retail Consortium has suggested that the changes will burden the industry with an extra £7bn in costs.
More than 80 bosses from companies including Sainsbury's, M&S and John Lewis broke cover earlier this month by writing to Ms Reeves to raise concerns over her tax raid.
Nish Kankiwala, the John Lewis Partnership boss, has described the Budget as a "two-handed grab", with taxes rising at the same time as a business rates overhaul has been delayed.
It has also since emerged that the taxes paid by Britain's biggest companies jumped 10pc last year to £31.8bn, according to accountancy giant PwC, even before the Chancellor's record tax-raising Budget.
Meanwhile, the latest comments from John Lewis come as it prepares for a busy festive sales period. It said there had been a 73pc year-on-year increase in customers searching online for "John Lewis" and "Black Friday".
The company recently revealed that it launched its Black Friday deals for beauty and technology products earlier than it planned after rival retailers started rolling out offers last month.