John Lewis confirms which stores are reopening first – but the Sheffield shop is staying closed
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The retailer will bring back its first two outlets on June 15 with new social distancing measures in place to protect shoppers and staff.
It will then reopen a further 11 stores on June 18, as part of a phased plan.
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Hide AdThe update comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave ‘non-essential’ retailers, such as clothes shops, the go-ahead to open to the public on June 15.
John Lewis, which closed all of its outlets in March as the coronavirus crisis worsened, said it plans to reopen more stores ‘throughout the summer’ depending on how customers and staff respond.
Its stores in Poole and Kingston will be the first two sites to return. On June 18 these will be followed by: Bluewater, Cambridge, Cheadle, Cheltenham, High Wycombe, Horsham, Ipswich, Norwich, Nottingham, Solihull and Welwyn.
Sheffield’s branch in Barker's Pool is not on the initial list – neither are John Lewis’ other big Northern sites such as the stores in Leeds and at the Trafford Centre.
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Hide AdIn April it emerged that the group had started discussions on which of its department stores should keep their doors closed permanently when lockdown ends, with it being ‘highly unlikely’ that all 50 stores would reopen. Later the company said online sales had increased, but warned annual sales could plunge by 35 per cent in a worst-case scenario as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Sheffield store has operated in Barker’s Pool since 1963 and – up until 2002 – traded as Cole Brothers, which originally started on Fargate in 1847.
Shoppers in the first 13 branches to reopen will be faced with a different shopping experience to meet health and safety requirements. Fitting rooms and cafes will be shut until further notice and the number of shoppers on the premises at any one time will be capped.
Branches selected to reopen have been chosen primarily because of their accessibility by car, said the John Lewis Partnership, which plans to use social distancing practices already in place at its Waitrose supermarkets.