The department store business John Lewis is a well known chain that has many stores around the country.
John Lewis.
And recently, they have announced that 8 stores across the UK will not be reopening from lockdown, with 1,300 jobs set to be lost.
Lockdown has been hard on everyone, including businesses, with lots of lost revenue from over the past few months. John Lewis and other big businesses are no exception, with other companies losing lots of revenue and staff.
The stores set to close are two full-size department stores in Birmingham and Watford; four At Home shops in Croydon, Newbury, Swindon and Tamworth; and two travel hub shops at Heathrow and St Pancras.
Sharon White, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, 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.”
John Lewis previously did warn of such a scenario, where not all stores were reopening.
“Approximately 1,300 partners” will be let go at John Lewis, and the store was said to be financially challenged even before lockdown.
John Lewis explained: “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 60-70% of total sales this year and next.”
