John Lewis to reopen stores on 'phased basis'

26 May 2020, 15:11

John lewis has confirmed that it will start to reopen stores on a "phased basis".

The retailer confirmed that the phased reopening will gradually lead to all branches being open again.

However, the company did not say how many of its stores would reopen on June 15.

"Our plan sees us open our shops on a phased basis, to enable us to test the changes we are introducing and ensure the best and safest customer and partner (employee) experience," a statement said.

New safety measures are going to be put in place including a new "customer service host" to manage the flow of people in and out of the store and protective screens at checkouts.

There will also be "rigorous and frequent cleaning", as well as hand sanitiser for customers at all entrances.

The contactless payment limit has also been raised to £45.

However, beauty services which involve close contact, cafes and changing rooms will be unavailable.

Returned items will also not be able to be resold for 72 hours.

The decision follows new government guidelines announced on Monday.

Boris Johnson announced new rules for thousands of retailers to begin to reopen from June.

Car showrooms, shopping centres and open-air markets were all given the go-ahead to start to open their doors again.

Earlier on Tuesday, Greggs and Nandos announced that they will be opening stores for delivery following the new guidelines.

More to follow...