John Lewis warns of further store closures

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Retail giant John Lewis has warned of further store closures as it reported huge losses due to Covid-related lockdowns that forced shops to shut.

The group swung to a loss of £517m for the year to January, against profits of £146m the previous year

The retailer said it "does not expect" all of its department stores to reopen once lockdown restrictions ease.

It has previously been reported the chain was considering closing up to eight more stores to try to cut costs.

Any further closures would be in addition to eight already announced in 2020.

It did not say how many of its 42 John Lewis shops were under threat, but said it was in talks with landlords and would make a final decision at the end of March.

The rise in internet shopping, accelerated by various lockdown measures amid the coronavirus pandemic, has forced John Lewis to rethink how many stores it needs.

Chairman Sharon White said: "There is no getting away from the fact that some areas can no longer profitably sustain a John Lewis store.

"Regrettably, we do not expect to reopen all our John Lewis shops at the end of lockdown, which will also have implications for our supply chain.

"We will do everything we can to lessen the impact and will continue to provide community funds to support local areas.

"We want to ensure our stores reflect how customers want to shop - 'right space, right place'."

Savings target

John Lewis' hefty annual loss was mainly due to the write down in the value of its stores because of the shift to online shopping, as well as restructuring and redundancy costs.

The partnership, which also runs Waitrose supermarkets, is now targeting savings of £300m a year by 2022.

In addition to closing some John Lewis stores, the group is trialling running dedicated John Lewis shopping areas in some Waitrose supermarkets.

The group announced last July it was closing John Lewis stores in Birmingham, Croydon, Watford, Newbury, Swindon and Tamworth, as well as the smaller hubs at St Pancras and Heathrow, with the loss of 1,300 jobs.

In September, John Lewis also announced it was scrapping its staff bonus for the first time since 1953 in September.

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March 11, 2021 at 08:44PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56357412