Eight John Lewis shops set to close

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) announced today (Thursday July 9) that it will not reopen eight John Lewis shops ‘to secure the business’ long-term future and respond to customers’ shopping needs’. It will now enter into consultation with impacted staff about its proposals.

This announcement comes as the final wave of shop reopenings is 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.

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 staff across the eight shops will now enter into consultation.

JLP said: ‘If redundancies are confirmed, every effort would be made to find new roles where possible for Partners [staff] who wish to remain within the Partnership. Opportunities could include transferring to local Waitrose shops or working for johnlewis.com and waitrose.com as they continue to grow.’

JLP has also made a commitment to provide support through a Retraining Fund, which will contribute up to £3,000 towards a recognised qualification or course for up to two years for any Partner with two years’ service or more. All Partners would be given access to a three-month support programme with an outplacement specialist to help with CV writing and interview skills.

In addition to statutory redundancy payments, Partners who have worked with the business for more than a year would be entitled to Partnership redundancy pay, which equates to two weeks’ pay for every year of service, regardless of age. Those with less than one year’s service who leave on grounds of redundancy would receive an ex-gratia tax-free payment equivalent to one week’s contractual pay.

JLP said that prior to the 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. JLP predicts this figure could now be closer to 60-70% of total sales for this year and next.

Both John Lewis and Waitrose will continue to invest heavily in ecommerce to reflect this shift. Waitrose has already doubled its online capacity since the start of the pandemic. This will grow further, with a third online fulfilment centre in Greenford opening in partnership with logistics company Wincanton, and the continuing expansion of Waitrose Rapid, which allows shoppers to order and receive essential items within two hours. Further investment in johnlewis.com is also planned.

JLP chairman Sharon White said: “Closing a shop is always incredibly difficult and today’s announcement will come as very sad news to customers and Partners. 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.”

JOHN LEWIS SHOP REOPENINGS:

Kingston and Poole reopened on June 15. Bluewater, Cambridge, Cheadle, Cheltenham, High Wycombe, Horsham, Ipswich, Norwich, Nottingham, Solihull and Welwyn reopened on June 18. Peter Jones, Southampton, York, Milton Keynes, Liverpool, Leeds, Cribbs Causeway, Newcastle, and Tunbridge Wells reopened on June 25.

Basingstoke, Cardiff, Chelmsford, Chester, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Stratford, Trafford will reopen on July 13. Given the size and scale of the shop, Oxford Street will open on July 16 to allow additional time to finalise reopening. Aberdeen, Ashford, Brent Cross, Chichester, Leicester, Oxford, Peterborough, Reading, Sheffield, Swindon Outlet and White City will reopen on July 30.

JOHN LEWIS SHOPS PROPOSED FOR CLOSURE:

Shop	Size	Format	Opened
Croydon	52,000 sq ft	At Home	August 2010
Swindon	59,000 sq ft	At Home	October 2010
Tamworth	42,000 sq ft	At Home	October 2011
Newbury	40,000 sq ft	At Home	April 2012
Heathrow Terminal Two	3,600 sq ft	Travel Hub	June 2014
London St Pancras Train Station	3,000 sq ft	Travel Hub	October 2014
Birmingham, Bullring Shopping Centre	136,000 sq ft	Department Store	September 2015
Watford, Harlequin Shopping Centre	96,620 sq ft	Department Store	August 1990