What John Lewis has said about Bristol store as some branches set to reopen

There will be a number of strict social distancing measures in place

John Lewis has revealed the locations of the department stores it will reopen first - but its Bristol branch is not one of them.

The retailer plans to initially open just under a quarter of its shops as part of a gradual approach, with rigorous safety and social distancing measures in place.

Its Poole and Kingston department stores will be the first to reopen on June 15, followed by 11 others on June 18, with branches selected primarily because of their accessibility by car.

It is not yet known when John Lewis' store at Cribbs Causeway will open.

When asked by Bristol Live, a John Lewis spokesperson said: "Depending on the response from customers and Partners to our new ways of operating with respect to social distancing, more shops will open throughout the summer."

Safety measures in place

John Lewis said its preparations have been "informed" by social distancing measures at its Waitrose supermarkets, which have traded throughout the pandemic.

It said it will reduce the number of entrances to stores and put caps on the number of people able to shop at one time as part of new safety measures.

The company, which trades from 50 stores across the UK, said in a statement: "We have been preparing to reopen our John Lewis stores, informed by what we have learnt from the social distancing measures the partnership has taken in Waitrose.

"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 experience.

"The safety of our customers and partners will govern everything we do and we are prepared to readjust our plan and make changes as we go to make sure we get it absolutely right and continue adhering to evolving Government guidelines."

The stores that will reopen first:

The Poole and Kingston department stores will reopen first on June 15

Then, on May 18, branches at Bluewater, Cambridge, Cheadle, Cheltenham, High Wycombe, Horsham, Ipswich, Norwich, Nottingham, Solihull and Welwyn will join them.

Each shop will undertake a four-week reopening preparation programme prior to reopening.

This includes counting stock, replenishment, preparation of systems, merchandising, deep cleaning, the introduction of social distancing measures, training and final pre-opening checks.