John Lewis has today announced plans to reopen a further 10 shops, including shops in Scotland and Wales, and its flagship Oxford Street store

Lead image: Courtesy John Lewis & Partners

John Lewis shops in Basingstoke, Cardiff, Chelmsford, Chester, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Stratford and the Trafford Centre will reopen on Monday 13 July, but the Oxford Street store won’t reopen until later in the week, on Thursday 16 July. Given the size and scale of John Lewis Oxford Street, extra time is required to finalise the reopening plans.

‘We continue to stick to our safe, not fast approach,’ says Bérangère Michel, Executive Director for Customer Service at the John Lewis Partnership.

‘We are learning as we go and tweaking our approach to give our customers and Partners the best possible experience.

‘Feedback from customers is that they really enjoy being able to test and try out products such as tablets, mattresses and shoes, all in a safe environment, as well as asking our expert Partners for advice.’

Socially distanced queuing at the cash desks at John Lewis, Kingston

John Lewis reopened its first store, in Kingston and Poole, on 15 June, kicking off a phased approach that saw a further 11 shops beginning to reopen on Thursday 18 June. Another nine stores, including Chelsea’s Peter Jones on Sloane Square, reopen on Thursday 25 June.

The latest reopenings will take the total number of John Lewis stores now open to 32, with plans for further shops to reopen later in the summer.

Key social distancing measures in John Lewis shops include:

Customer Service Hosts assigned to welcome customers into the store, answer questions and manage queues and customer numbers Reduction in the number of shop entrances and exits Prominent social distancing signage Protective screens at checkouts and areas of the shop where two-metre social distancing is not possible, such as at Welcome Desks Control procedures for escalators and lifts limiting the number of users Rigorous and frequent cleaning Provision of hand sanitiser for customers to use at all entrances and throughout shops New contactless payment limit of £45 Safe and simple returns process including new drop boxes and quarantining returned stock for 48 hours

Close-contact beauty services are not yet available and customer catering outlets and fitting rooms will remain closed until further notice.

John Lewis’s Place to Eat and cafes will reopen at a later date, but some third party catering outlets will be open.

The toilets will be open.