Do you think John Lewis the shop, will survive coronavirus ?

[Lardlizard]

Please don’t let us lose that too !!!

Are they in trouble ?

I do yes. Have you any reason to think otherwise?

Yes. They are huge. Waitrose probably doing pretty well. Online is still functioning. I think they have a better chance than most.

It depends on how much debt they have. John Lewis has the added benefit of click and collect at Waitrose and already had a good online presence. I think it might shrink, but will hang on fingers 🤞

Can you imagine if Harrod’s went bust though?

I hope not, for the sake of all their staff.

John Lewis originally told all their staff who took time off for Covid 19 that they had to pay back the time they took off (how someone is able to make up or pay back 12 weeks I don't know) and only backtracked when it was published on Twitter.

For a company that put so much emphasis on their staff being partners they treat them appallingly. If they survive I hope they learn to treat their staff better.

I'd much rather keep John Lewis than Harrod's

One of their weaknesses is online as they seem to run out of stock quickly. Fixing this during the pandemic will save them.

Harrodsburg has been bought and sold many times, I believe. It is now owned by one of the multi billionaires from somewhere like Quata, or similar I think

I hope they do. But with profits falling the way they have over the years I can imagine they'll focus more online than in store. Sounds horrible but I can't see them having as many stores when they reach 200 years.

I heard they were in trouble (cant remember where) and was shocked. If JL cant keep it together that would be like the nail in the coffin for the high street. I rarely shop in JL but would buy high value items there for the guarantee.

I hope so! I happen to know though, via a Waitrose delivery driver that some JL staff have been redeployed to Waitrose grocery service, which would make sense. This was after I commented light heartedly about my cat food being replaced by cat litter!

I’d love them to survive, but it’s not looking good. They are really floundering with their “old style” stores - apparently people don’t like to shop that way any more. But I do and I’m “only” 43 and I would be gutted if they went.

The new style John Lewis (Birmingham New Street) is absolutely hideous and if that’s all they’ve got to offer for future stores then there is no hope for them, unfortunately.

Its in my top 5 places to go after lockdown. I love a good mooch round JL with coffee and cake. We have a 1920s store near us and it is so cosy and lovely to look around. I agree the new modern ones like Cambridge and Birmingham have lost some of the magic and this might be part of their problem. They don't have the right atmosphere.
I am saving lots of money though not having my weekend JL visits

I'm proud to be old style if it means preferring to see my clothes for real before I hand over my money. A few years ago I was a massive fan of online shopping but now I'm thoroughly disillusioned and I think we're being had.

I have no idea who's going to survive this but I hope John Lewis do.

it wouldn't surprise me. The trustpilot scores for the on line store are terrible. I had a surreally bad experience with a dishwasher delivery and fitting last year.

I love john lewis so hope they dont.

They actually usually treat their staff really well, I know someone who works there and they have some good perks and generally happy. They were redeployed to waitrose when stores closed but have since been furloughed.

They were not told of anything about making up hours missed and they first heard about it on hotukdeals!!!! I think they were waiting to hear from a manager about when to return to work and expected to hear then but obviously it's been put into press and retracted since so hey ho!

They’ve been floundering financially for a while. I got JL vouchers for a leaving gift recently - I made sure I spent them quickly! Who knows whether they will survive - they don’t have shareholders to get a cash injection from.

The new ones are too high end - for household stuff that I would previously have gone to JL for, I’m now more likely to go to Amazon. They seem to be chasing the wealthier people - as evidenced by last year’s Christmas gift guide, which was full of £1000 coffee makers etc.

I think it will but only just. Sadly a lot of our favourite shops will probably go to the wall.

oh no, i thought they were stable and established with reasonable fluctuations not month after month decreases!

i love john lewis and buy something at least once a month via click and collect. i buy kids clothes, home wares linens, birthday presents and premium beauty when offers on. hope they stay good, the range is fantastic.

They'll be fine surely! I love JL and have continued to shop online during this and I'm sure I'm not the only one

God I hope Waitrose have propped them up in the same way I hope the food section of M&S have propped them up

Noooooooo - going to John Lewis is top of my list of what I want to do when things open again! I love it, despite the decline in customer service. It’s the only big department store that’s really nice to be in IMO.

Just going off at a bit of a tangent, does Robert Sayle in Cambridge include the old shop, or is it somewhere else now? I loved the old store, buying fabric and sewing patterns, lovely stationery, clothes, baby stuff, a good bra dept and then popping down the little staircase to the basement. I went into labour in that shop 😁

I enjoy going to John Lewis and buying smaller items, but after my PIL's experience ordering a sofa I wouldn't ever buy furniture from there again. At one point delivering a visibly broken sofa, refusing to put it back on the truck and leaving it in their front garden!