Travel hub shops at Heathrow and St Pancras, four At Home shops in Croydon, Newbury, Swindon and Tamworth and two full size department stores in Birmingham and Watford to close.
The John Lewis Partnership this morning (July 9) confirmed that it will not re-open eight of its stores.
The shops identified for closure include two of the smallest in the estate – the travel hub shops at Heathrow and St Pancras – plus four At Home shops in Croydon, Newbury, Swindon and Tamworth and two full size department stores in Birmingham and Watford.
Approximately 1,300 Partners across the eight shops will now enter into consultation.
The announcement came as the final wave of shop reopenings was also confirmed.
A further nine shops in Aberdeen, Ashford, Brent Cross, Chichester, Oxford, Peterborough, Reading, Sheffield and White City Westfield will reopen on July 30.
Leicester will also reopen when the local lockdown for the city is lifted, taking the total number of reopened John Lewis shops to 42. The Swindon outlet will also reopen on July 30.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the eight shops identified were already financially challenged and the pandemic has accelerated the switch from shopping in-store to online. Before the virus struck, 40% of John Lewis sales were online. This could now be closer to 60 to 70% of total sales this year and next.
Both John Lewis and Waitrose will continue to invest heavily in ecommerce to reflect this shift.
“Closing a shop is always incredibly difficult and today’s announcement will come as very sad news to customers and Partners,” said Sharon White, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership. “However, we believe closures are necessary to help us secure the sustainability of the Partnership – and continue to meet the needs of our customers however and wherever they want to shop. Redundancies are always an absolute last resort and we will do everything we can to keep as many Partners as possible within our business.
“There are many reasons to be optimistic about the Partnership’s future. Waitrose and John Lewis are two of the UK’s most loved and trusted brands and we have adapted to the challenges of the pandemic by responding to the new needs of customers. We will soon announce the output of our strategic review which will ensure our brands stay relevant for future generations of customers.”
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