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

[Lardlizard]

Please don’t let us lose that too !!!

I hope not but due to the demolition of the St James Centre in Edinburgh and its rebuild the store in Edinburgh hasn’t been great for a long time. The new centre will be delayed now and no doubt that will have a big impact on them.

I used to love John Lewis - if anything went wrong with a purchase they would bend over backwards to put things right. They don't seem to do that anymore so I'm less likely to buy expensive items such as furniture or domestic appliances there. Also the quality isn't as good and very often furniture is self assembly - might as well buy from Ikea.

We did try to buy large appliances through John Lewis but found AO.com and local independents cheaper and with better customer service.

I totally take a pp’s point that they can’t exist as attractions, which is what I and others are guilty of - popping in with my vouchers for coffee and free cake, a mooch round the home wares and posh frocks before heading home to buy stuff cheaper online.

I've just switched my phone/broadband to them and it went entirely smoothly, and is very reasonably priced. I tend to shop online with them as I'm a distance from any stores, and I've always been very impressed by the service - it seems to have held up well during the current situation. I'd miss them lots...

Oh god, JL stores are so annoying now! This winter, needed a stick blender. Use the online store checker thing - there is 1 in stock of various models. Great, so I head off to Cheltenham. When I get there, told that the 'one in stock' thing will mean the display model - there's only a few lines you can actually buy. Left empty handed and annoyed at wasted journey.

The website, which I used to use a lot for children's clothes, has become irritating to use, as they now like to use models in quirky poses where you can't actually see the product. I prefer Next and H&M now, so I can run my eye down a page and not waste time clicking on individual products to see the supplementary images, and actually get an idea of what something looks like.

JL has been a bit wobbly since Andy Street left, hasn't it? I'm just below the WM, wonder if he's doing well as mayor.

I love John Lewis and my recent experience of their customer service was amazing (furniture team - they spent about an hour on the phone to me sorting out something that was entirely my fault, and sent out a man to have a look).

The in-store staff aren’t as universally knowledgable as they used to be but I’ve never encountered anyone being bored or borderline rude like you do in lots of high street shops. And I really rate their own-brand stuff for quality.

Really hope they come through this alright. It would be like the ravens leaving the Tower if John Lewis went down!

Yes, I think JL and Waitrose will be absolutely fine long term.

Their USP is they offer their clients a feeling of affluence which seems important to many these days.

I dont shop in either - although used JL regularly 40 years ago when I had a store card - as the closest to me of either is 10 miles away and I am far too tight these days to pay their prices. 😂

Another point is that people are in high dudgeon because the service and stock aren't what they were in JL, so no longer shop there but happily purchase from Amazon, without criticism, despite them not paying taxes here.
If taxes aren't being paid it affects our whole lives, not just how cheaply you can buy clothes. If these big tax paying/employing companies go we lose out all round as less tax goes to NHS, infrastructure etc

I hope it does. It's the only department store I'll shop in. (Birmingham branch is my nearest now). I don't go there too often, but they seem to have decent prices and a good range, it's not just high-end stuff. Last major purchase from there was my mattress.

I was in the Cambridge shop recently, after a few years. It is very shiny, it used to be old fashioned and closed on Mondays. Some departments are great (compared to where I now live), but the clothes seemed expensive - less basics than I remember.
I noticed the customers all looked older than me, which would worry me in terms of their long term future. (My cake mixer was bought there 35 years ago, I'm no spring chicken).
I love a wander round department stores though, I hope they survive.

JL hasn’t closed on Mondays for nearly 20 years. I know because a friend worked in that shop in Cambridge.

EdwinaMay is right. We need to shop at shops which pay taxes and contribute. If we carry on like this everything we want will be curtailed yet again. No taxes equals no services.

I quite liked it closing on Mondays, it was quirky! Their sale was fabulous for things like towels and odds and ends of kitchen things. And it had a fabulous hosiery department.
I'd love a dream about it!

If I recall correctly - it was a long time ago - the John Lewis Monday closing tradition predated Sunday opening, and it meant their staff could enjoy, if not a weekend, at least 2 consecutive days off. Old fashioned perhaps but also quite civilised.

I worked for JL a v v long time ago, when it closed on Mondays - and yes it was to allow workers 2 consecutive days off as they were obviously open on Saturdays.

Birmingham is my local store and yes it was built “as a store of the future” - at first I wasn’t sure, it didn’t seem to have much stock, encouraging you to order from online, clearly for the people just having a mooch.

But it’s got a lot better, and I really enjoy shopping there now. My only criticism is that the children’s wear dept is better in Solihull but that’s it.

And yes. Andy Street is thriving in his role as Mayor of West Midlands

Didn't they have a holiday resort for staff? I worked with a lad whose dad worked in Robert Sayle, I'm sure he told me that. Joshua Taylor was beautiful in Cambridge, it was very upmarket.
Heffers stationers had a pen department where a man fixed fountain pens, and we left an anglepoise lamp in to be mended. Very last century.

I so hope John Lewis survives, I love their stores whether older style or new. I’ve bought loads of things via next day click and collect and always found it very efficient. Staff are generally great. Like a pp said, it’s one of the top places I’m looking forward to going back to most when lockdown is over, mainly for a cheese scone.

I hope not! I've got loads of 'online credit' and there's nothing I actually want to buy on the website (which I guess is the problem).
I do like the Oxford Street branch as I can wander round there with my dog after work (my dog comes to work with me) and the staff there love dogs so she gets lots of cuddles.

They had the house on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour. (Where Baden Powell took the first Boy Scouts).

As soon as this is over I'm heading to Oxford Street to see shopping dogs. My dog loves going into buildings.

I hope they will survive! I go there a lot as it's one of the only places to get a lot of stuff where I live. Although my local store is one that has just been refurbished to be all modern and shiny and it has annoyed me that they've cut the size of the children's clothing department by about 75%. I can see that the refurb won't suit a lot of their traditional shoppers as e.g. women'a fashion is now very focused on the pricier end of the high street, smart casual stuff - Whistles, Jigsaw, Boden, Hush, and their own lines like Modern Rarity, Kin etc. When I was a child I remember going there with my grandparents and looking at the evening dresses and there would be loads of elderly customers in there. They've definitely moved away from that now!

I think most people think Boden are mid range in price. As are Hush. They have never been a shop to have Primark level prices so they are trying to keep to their ethos. When my local homeware JL remodelled, they stocked Phase 8, White Stuff and a few other mid price brands. Definitely not all LK Bennett and Ralph Lauren at all. I like what they sell but - I only buy in the sales! I still see older people in there. However they don’t stock teen brands at all and I’m struggling to think of a baby/child section of any size. I imagine their research says customers don’t buy it from them. The cafe is always full though!

Ah ours has RL and L K Bennett! It used to have Warehouse and Oasis back in the day but obviously not any more. The café is always packed like you say.

They do have a list of under performing stores so we will no doubt learn which ones are closing before too long. I think I read they have 39 stores but I could be wrong.

To be honest I find the womenswear in JL a bit dull. I check out Whistles and Kin but that's about it, and I think it badly needs an injection of something or other. But I love looking round the haberdashery and the china and the lighting and the stationary. I even like the perfume department and I don't wear any.

There are a few misconceptions on here, firstly John Lewis didn't tell their staff who took time off for Covid 19 they had to pay back the time they took off, that was Waitrose and it was soon changed when they recognised the disparity between the group. Secondly, John Lewis staff did indeed get a bonus this year, it was just 2% but they did get one. They have a couple of holiday sites for staff. They have a very generous staff discount which has been upped recently at Waitrose as a help during the pandemic. Doesn't sound like they are on their last legs to me!