Blow: Dame Sharon White has already closed eight stores and cut 2,800 jobs
John Lewis is preparing to close up to eight more department stores to slash costs after narrowly avoiding its first loss in 101 years.
Chairman Dame Sharon White has already closed eight stores and cut 2,800 jobs in an attempt to turn its fortunes around.
The mutual, which has 42 stores, is now set to announce further closures, pending negotiations with landlords.
The chain’s bigger, older shops are most at risk, the Sunday Times reported, but it could reopen some stores in smaller premises nearby.
The move would be another blow to the High Street after the collapse of Debenhams and Arcadia, which shut more than 600 stores.
The boom in online shopping has forced John Lewis to reassess how many stores it needs.
The proportion of revenues coming from its website is expected to rise from 40 per cent before the pandemic to near 70 per cent.
John Lewis is expected to make a small operating profit in the year to January 2021. The company posted a record £635m loss in the six months to September, mostly due to property write-downs.
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