John Lewis stores to reopen in April, but confirms closure of eight

The upmarket retailer John Lewis has confirmed that all of its department stores across this region will reopen in April.

The Cheltenham, Cribbs Causeway, High Wycombe, Oxford, Reading and Solihull will all reopen on April 12, the company confirmed today.

But it has confirmed that eight stores, including Basingstoke, will not reopen after lockdown.

In a statement, the company said: “The John Lewis Partnership is not planning to reopen eight of its 42 John Lewis shops from lockdown, as it rebalances its store estate to reflect how customers want to shop.”

The eight shops identified for closure include four ‘At Home’ shops in Ashford, Basingstoke, Chester and Tunbridge Wells and four department stores in Aberdeen, Peterborough, Sheffield and York.

The company said: “Having fewer bigger stores allows us to invest significantly to improve our remaining ones, showcasing our inspiring products with more space dedicated to experiences and services. They will be enticing and exciting places to shop, more reflective of the tastes and interests of local customers.

“Our research tells us that customers want more convenient access to John Lewis so we’re improving the next day Click & Collect service in Waitrose stores and offering more local collection points through third parties. We’re trialling the introduction of John Lewis shopping areas in our Waitrose stores and by the autumn, Waitrose general merchandise products will be sourced by John Lewis.

“We will also be testing new formats of smaller, local neighbourhood shops offering the best of John Lewis.”