The John Lewis Partnership has “taken the difficult decision” to temporarily close all of its 50 stores including the one in Welwyn Garden City.
The John Lewis store in Bridge Road, WGC, will shut until further notice at the close of business on Monday, March 23 as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Website Johnlewis.com will continue to operate as normal, alongside Waitrose shops, including the Welwyn Garden City branch, and waitrose.com.
This will be the first time in the 155-year history of the business that it will not open its shop doors for customers.
As a consequence, Waitrose food offers within department stores at Watford, Southampton and Bluewater will also close.
Chairman Sharon White said: “The welfare of our customers, communities and Partners is always our absolute priority.
“While it is with a heavy heart that we temporarily close our John Lewis shops, our Partners will, where possible, be taking on important roles in supporting their fellow Partners, providing critical services in Waitrose shops and ensuring our customers can get what they need through johnlewis.com, which is seeing extremely strong demand.
“The Partnership has traded for over 155 years, during which time we have faced many difficult periods, including two world wars and the 2008 financial crisis.
“On every occasion, thanks to our customers and Partners, and the long-standing relationships with our suppliers and stakeholders, we have emerged stronger.
“We all need to continue to support each other and our strength and resilience will be tested. But they will not be broken.
“I also want to give my personal thanks to every single Partner for their extraordinary efforts, I am truly grateful. And to the wider community for pulling together with us during such unprecedented times.”
All 338 Waitrose shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands – including the one in Welwyn Garden City – will remain open as will waitrose.com.
More than 2,000 John Lewis Partners are already working in Waitrose shops across the country to assist with the unprecedented demand for grocery and other essential goods.
Wherever possible, John Lewis staff will be redeployed to provide additional support to Waitrose and johnlewis.com for the partnership’s non-food online business.
FULL LIST OF JOHN LEWIS SHOP LOCATIONS:
Aberdeen, Ashford, Basingstoke, Birmingham, Bluewater, Brent Cross, Cambridge, Cardiff, Cheadle, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chester, Chichester, Cribbs Causeway, Croydon, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Heathrow (Terminal 2), High Wycombe, Horsham, Ipswich, Kingston, Leeds, Leicester, London (Oxford Street), London (Peter Jones, Sloane Square), London St Pancras station, London (Stratford City), London (White City), Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Newbury, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Peterborough, Poole, Reading, Sheffield, Solihull, Southampton, Swindon, Tamworth, Trafford, Tunbridge Wells, Watford, Welwyn Garden City, York.
Visit www.johnlewis.com/customer-services/faq/coronavirus-covid-19 for John Lewis’ COVID-19 coronavirus questions.
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