Nottingham’s John Lewis store at risk, say reports

Nottingham’s flagship John Lewis store could be under threat of closure after its chairwoman was reported to be considering closing several of its remaining stores.

Dame Sharon White is said to be looking at shutting eight of the retail giant’s 42 stores, with the Sunday Times saying that outlets in Nottingham, Liverpool, Cambridge, Southampton, Norwich and Newcastle could be at risk.

An announcement could be made as early as next month.

Last year, John Lewis said that an initial eight stores wouldn’t reopen when lockdown was lifted in a move that will cost 1,300 jobs. A further 1,500 roles at the company’s head office will also go.

Richard Hyman, a partner at retail consultancy TPC, said John Lewis simply has too many shops.

He added: “Around 10 years ago, they decided to do two things at the same time – one was to go to hell for leather to build a big online business, and the other was to double their number of stores. The disconnect between those two paths has landed them with the dilemma they’ve got today.”

John Lewis’s Nottingham venue is the Victoria shopping centre. If it closes it would bring a further blow to the city’s retail scene which has already this year lost its sprawling Debenham’s department store.

John Lewis declined to comment on the Sunday Times report.