Is John Lewis the next Department store to face problems?

[Ifailed]

profits down by 99% for the past 6 months & that includes Waitrose, so presumably the Dept Store side of things made a loss.

Are we seeing the final demise of Department Stores in the UK?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45506322

They all sell the same stuff - literally! Same bloody concessions in all of them and they massively overpriced.

Something had got to give. I think it will be Debenhams. JL is bigger, has way more pies and brand loyalty to die for. Particularly at Christmas as someone has already said.

Not with the amount we spend in there!

I don't think JL will go.

It's the only shop I go to regularly and it's always rammed with people when I go.

Debs has been struggling for some time. Mike Ashley (Sports Direct) has a large stake in it and of course he now controls House of Fraser. Work out what might happen there....

We had a Debs and I often bought clothes from there. Mens dept was great, well laid out, as was kitchen and bedding. Womens dept was six times the size of the mens and an absolute hideous mess. It closed a few years ago.

We have a John Lewis that's moved in since. We also have a Waitrose. JL is going to do really well here and expect it will finish off our House of Fraser.

These stores really need to get their online service sorted properly. JL have suffered from price matching. I also think that they have a lot of floor staff. Far more than places like Boots, where finding someone to ask is as rare as hens teeth.

I don’t see why they couldn’t amalgamate parts of JL with Waitrose. Locally, JL has a home store. It wouldn’t be difficult to put Waitrose in part of that, especially as it’s part of a retail park and has plenty of parking.

Debenhams is definitely on its uppers and I think the days of the department store are numbered.

It had better not - its my go to shop (I must be one of those "older people who are not necessarily bargain hunting" as referenced up thread ), as is Waitrose

Hmm, no wonder they had a very recent rebrand, just before this announcement.

Hope they aren't sending good money after bad. They will have spent a fortune changing everything.

Waitrose has become Waitrose and partners

That's just a name change/PR re-brand.

They are in relative trouble as all bricks and mortar stores are, but the rebrand is try and focus more on the co-operative routes, shares for employees etc (although they are not what they once were)

They just spent 5million getting Elton john in the Xmas advert I don't think things are too bad for them

Do you think its my civic duty to go and buy a whole new wardrobe (clothes not furniture!) in JL to help support them? I think it is, but OH doesnt agree!

I love the genteel ambience of JL, and my parents and now me are pretty much their target market. I’ve been a JL shopper all my life. Except for Waitrose, there is not one within 25 miles. Anyway, we went to the new(ish) Leeds store recently for 5 things: iPad, kids trainers, laminator pouches, cress seeds and Fimo. They had none of these.in the past I have bought/seen all of them from the Sheffield store; admittedly the last 2 items are a bit odd, but not that random. I struggled with the idea of them not keeping a 64mg iPad in stock. They ordere and it arrived 2 weeks later. We wanted it from JL because of the warranty, but 2 weeks to get something seems excessive. Maybe they should stop building architecturally challenging shops (Leeds looks like a pineapple) and look at the stock they carry. iPads and kids trainers, c’mon.*

Then we went for lunch in the cafe. The only veggie option on a Sundaylunchtime was a cheese scone or hummus dip with carrot sticks, the later of which I could only get as part of a kids picnic bag. The dc and DH had meat pies and, I think, lamb shanks.

It was possibly the most dispiriting and dissaponting shopping trip ever. I really want to continue to love JL, but I feel that they are loosing their way.

• I am old enough to remember when mail order meant “please allow 28 days for delivery” ** they did have a single Nike style in, but were sold out of most sizes. The display one was DD’s size, but we couldn’t have it because it was the display one!?

I feel sure Debenhams will be next to go. They are doing a revamp in the Leicester store, but it looks awful - like they have run out of money half way through. I went up to the children's departments and most of it was in darkness! The layout reminds me of the old fashioned Littlewoods/BHS stores.

I do like JL and would be really disappointed if it closed, but then can't really say that I am a loyal shopper either.

I'd be gutted if JL went. But I'm one of their old loyal customers - perhaps they can hang on till I'm dead!

I rolled my eyes at the rebranding - thought companies had got over that particular waste of money to no effect. It’s a worrying sign that they haven’t really looked at the business and are trying to put a sticking plaster on it - it will alienate rather than attract. Those who care already know it is a partnership but for most it will be a shrug of ‘so what ?’

I think the over expansion of stores has been a bigger problem - my older local John Lewis is always busy but I have been to some of the out of town ones and they are like deserts.

I should be sorry to see them fail but they need to go back to what made them successful, beyond price comparison. Their customer service has really gone downhill - everything is centralised, to the detriment of customers, so they are very inflexible about fitting, estimating or delivery dates for things like carpets or white goods. I tried them out for carpets and for a dishwasher recently and in both cases went for a local independent. They have cut standard ranges held in store so that you have to order to be delivered - and then have to pay for the privilege. The staff are as frustrated by that as the customers.

Waitrose I love, but enough with the gimmicky free coffee and papers.

It's a shrinking spiral ... the remaining players get a brief boost as one of their number fails, but the background trend is ... downwards.

Debenhams is struggling. When they go it'll boost JL for a while. but you can't outrun fate.

I haven't a good feeling about Boots either.

Same for the DIY sheds ... Homebase is going which will boost Wickes and B&Q briefly. Screwfix and Toolstation seem to be doing OK. (And B&Q own Screwfix).

Presumably things were like this as motorised transport caught on ? All the trades associated with horses disappeared over less than 2 decades.

I've watched JL rebrand itself and try to become glitzy and glam (I've been going to the flagship Oxford St store for years and years - which now does have a Waitrose in the basement btw).

All the character has been stripped out of it, they've more or less killed off what used to be a great haberdashery department and put in several pointless restaurant/cafe outlets that never seem to be busy. What really drives me mad are the new escalators that stop you moving through the store easily by separating up and down, and seem to be a way to force you to walk through the shop-floor to wade through acres of crap whether you want to or not.

I've had a shockingly bad customer service experience with a delivery, too, which would never have happened with JL back in the day.

I think it's lost its way big-time, and is suffering accordingly.

Be glad to see the back of them

Why?!

Agree with Aaaahfuck. Last couple of times I've been in the customer service has been appalling. I think that's always a soft sign of a company starting a downward slide. It happened with Debenhams, it's happening with M&S, and now JL.

Be glad to see the back of them

You’d be glad to see 80k staff lose their jobs? You’d be glad to see the further knock-on effects as town centres lose yet more stores and smaller businesses suffer from the inevitability decreased footfall?

I don't think john lewis will go anywhere yet. Debenhams and house of fraser will both go soon though.

John lewis has a very good website, unlike the others. It does international delivery on many items which I use frequently. I like that they do clothes wise everything from their own basics at reasonable prices and good quality, up to various other designers.

They already have waitrose in several stores also. The oxford street on as mentioned, and Im sure I have been in two others which also do, usually in the basement.

The john lewis newish mini store at Heathrow airport is shite though. Just sells things like inflatable flamingos or whatever the current trend is, when I really wanted 2 more john lewis basic cotton tshirts and an oxo lemon peeler!

I think JL has gone too glitzy. Some of the stores feel very cold and sterile now - Oxford Street etc. Their Peter Jones store in Sloane Square tends to be my go to in London as it is a better shopping experience for me. My most visited JL is the one in Kingston upon Thames which has a more cosier feel.

I read somewhere that they will be offering tradesperson services as they are a trustworthy brand - plumbers, electricians etc. So they are diversifying.

Debenhams is a disaster zone and has been for years. They have too many products (especially their dire designer clothes ranges) and the stores are unkempt, cramped and depressing. And they are very pushy at the tills with their storecard - they ask you several times. It seems that the staff are told to push it. I would not miss them.

I like Fenwicks (particularly Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury), Bentalls in Kingston (which is now owned by Fenwicks) and Hoopers in Tunbridge Wells.

I like the idea of a department store. Used to feel very glam years ago to go to one. Or a building full of possibilities. (Used to love Dickens & Jones). But a disappointing experience these days.

Debenhams are doing a fair bit in the supply chain, but their garment processing ability is going, so all your lingerie will arrive pre-licked. I work with a few people who drive their wagons, and the breakdown rate is rising as the fleet ages. No replacements due either, except spot hires for peak.

will be very sad if it does go. love being able to order stuff and pick it up from my very handy Waitrose the next day.

they must lose a lot on the price matching thing.

I went to the Oxford St store last week, hated the rebrand (def trying to appeal to a more designer-focussed demographic) and as usual the service wasn't great - that's been going downhill for years.

But it's still my go-to store, as it is my mums and all the aunties etc. M&S and Debenhams have been awful for years.

Maybe they will scale down to seeing jl branded stuff only like M&S? I love the John Lewis branded stuff, especially for kids. It's good quality and pretty cheap and very very reliable. But I don't tend to buy other brands at John Lewis because their selection is limited so it is better for me to go into my local seasalt, face face etc or just to go on the website.