John Lewis announces fate of Leeds Victoria Gate store as it closes Sheffield and York branches

The department store retailer told staff on Wednesday morning that it will not reopen the stores after lockdown measures lift, as it undergoes a major shift in strategy to adapt to changing shopping habits.

The Sheffield and York branches are among the four department stores to close, as well Aberdeen and Peterborough.

Four At Home stores will also close in Ashford, Basingstoke, Chester and Tunbridge Wells.

The Leeds store in Victoria Gate will reopen from April 12, John Lewis has announced, subject to Government guidance.

It's one of the 34 remaining stores in England which will remain open.

The announcement came eight months after the high street stalwart closed another eight stores, in a move which cut around 1,300 jobs, in the first stage of a sweeping overhaul.

John Lewis Partnership said on Wednesday that it will also transfer the operations of its Waitrose distribution centre in Leyland, Lancashire, to XPO Logistics.

It said 436 Waitrose staff at the site will be transferred to XPO.

John Lewis has been buoyed by soaring online sales in recent months but these were not sufficient to offset its decline in store sales as it tumbled to a £517 million pre-tax loss for the year to January.

It was the first loss in the group’s history dating back to 1864.

Earlier this month, the John Lewis Partnership confirmed it would shut more sites and said its partners would not receive an annual bonus for the first time in 68 years.

It said it expects its financials to get worse over the current financial year as it continues its shake-up and warned staff they are not expected to receive a bonus until 2022-23.

Last year, the company announced separate plans to axe around 1,500 head office jobs to help cut costs.

The move was intended to help the business save around £50 million as part of wider plans to reduce total costs by £300 million.

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