Date announced for Nottingham branch of John Lewis to reopen - and what customers can expect

Numerous safety measures will be in place

The phased reopening of John Lewis department stores across the UK will begin next month, with the Nottingham branch returning to business on Thursday, June 18.

The decision follows the Government’s guidance earlier this week on easing restrictions for non-essential retailers.

Learning from the social distancing measures the Partnership has taken in Waitrose shops, John Lewis plans initially to open just under a quarter of its shops as part of a steady, gradual approach with rigorous safety and social distancing measures in place.

Branches selected to open have been chosen primarily because of their accessibility by car.

The business will undertake an ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of each of the operational changes it implements during this initial phase of reopening, making adjustments as it goes to ensure the best and safest customer and staff experience possible.

John Lewis temporarily closed its 50 department stores on March 23 for the first time in its 155-year history. However, online shopping continued throughout lockdown with a "significant uplift in sales" - an 84 percent increase between March 15 and April 18.

The first stores in Poole and Kingston will reopen on June 15, followed by 11 more, including the branch in intu Victoria Centre, on June 18. Depending on the response from customers and staff to the new ways of operating with respect to social distancing, more shops will open throughout the summer.

Sharon White, partner and chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “The momentous events of the last few months have tested our resilience as a business, but our resourcefulness, innovation and the spirit of cooperation between Partners has really shone through.

“It’s been heartwarming to see John Lewis Partners stepping into different roles to support our Waitrose supermarkets and to keep johnlewis.com running and I’m proud of everything our Partners across both our brands have done to help us get to this point.

"Our shops reopening is a sign of hope as we begin to find our new normal. There’s an opportunity, now, for us, to come back stronger as a business, and offer the safety and reassurance that customers will want.

Get the latest What's On news sent direct to your email inbox

If you don't like missing out on the next big thing then sign up to our What's On newsletter.

You'll never miss a restaurant opening or closing, or big news from Nottingham's pubs and nightclubs ever again. Click here to sign up for free.

“However, while we have experience of social distancing in our Waitrose shops, we will need to establish new ways of working in our department stores. We are taking this cautious approach to be able to learn as we go and to make sure that our shops are as safe as they can possibly be for our customers and partners.”

A raft of measures will be introduced for the safety of staff and customers.

• The introduction of a 'customer service host' assigned to welcome customers into the store and answer any questions while managing customer numbers, queues both at entrances and busy areas of the shop and explain to customers what changes they might see in store.
• Reducing the number of shop entrances.
• Caps on the number of customers entering stores.
• Prominent social distancing signage.
• Protective screens at checkouts and areas of the shop where two-metre social distancing cannot be achieved between customers and staff.
• 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.
• Social distancing in the back of house areas.
• New contactless payment limit of £45.
• Limiting the number of additional customer services - for example close-contact beauty services will not be offered and customer catering outlets and fitting rooms will remain closed until further notice.
• Safe and simple returns process - for example in line with government guidance staff returned stock will be separated from new or old stock for 72 hours.

Depending on customer feedback and how the first phase of openings progress, other initiatives which may be considered include virtual queuing, returns drop boxes and enabling Click & Collect from branch car parks.

Before reopening each store will undertake a four-week reopening preparation programme. This includes counting stock, deep cleaning, the introduction of social distancing measures, and staff training.