All of Yorkshire's John Lewis stores will reopen but eight nationally will be closed putting 1,300 jobs at risk

John Lewis said it will shut two full-size department stores in Birmingham and Watford, four At Home shops in Croydon, Newbury, Swindon and Tamworth, as well as two travel hub outlets at Heathrow and St Pancras.

It said the eight shops were already “financially challenged” before the pandemic, which has ramped up the shift towards online shopping.

The group estimated that between 60% and 70% of John Lewis sales are set to be made online this year and next, compared with 40% before the coronavirus crisis.

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It has already opened in its York and Leeds stores, with its Sheffield branch to reopen next Thursday (July 16).

John LewisJohn Lewis
John Lewis

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.”

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Leicester will also reopen when the local lockdown for the city is lifted.

The shops identified for closure include two of the smallest in the estate - travel hub shops at Heathrow and St Pancras, four At Home shops in Croydon, Newbury, Swindon and Tamworth and two full size department stores in Birmingham and Watford.

Approximately 1,300 Partners across the eight shops will now enter into consultation.

A statement said: "If redundancies are confirmed, every effort would be made to find new roles where possible for Partners 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.

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"The Partnership has also made a commitment to provide support through a unique 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.

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 percent of John Lewis sales were online. This could now be closer to 60 to 70 percent of total sales this year and next.