JOHN Lewis has today explained its plan to open stores with the first two set to welcome customers in on June 15.
Stores in Poole, Dorset, and Kingston, South West London, will be the first to reopen their doors.
Three days later a further 11 stores will open their doors and more shops will open throughout the summer if customers adhere to social distancing rules.
The shops to open on Monday, June 15 are Bluewater, Cambridge, Cheadle, Cheltenham, High Wycombe, Horsham, Ipswich, Norwich, Nottingham, Solihull and Welwyn.
Sharon White, Partner & Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “The momentous events of the last few months have tested our resilience as a business, but our resourcefulness, innovation and the spirit of cooperation between Partners has really shone through.
“It’s been heartwarming to see John Lewis Partners stepping into different roles to support our Waitrose supermarkets and to keep johnlewis.com running and I’m proud of everything our Partners across both our brands have done to help us get to this point.
“Our shops reopening is a sign of hope as we begin to find our new normal. There’s an opportunity, now, for us, to come back stronger as a business, and offer the safety and reassurance that customers will want.
“However, while we have experience of social distancing in our Waitrose shops, we will need to establish new ways of working in our department stores. We are taking this cautious approach to be able to learn as we go and to make sure that our shops are as safe as they can possibly be for our customers and Partners.”
