John Lewis to reopen stores on 12 April

John Lewis has today confirmed it will be reopening its stores in England and Wales on 12 April, following the latest government guidance.

The retailer will open its Glasgow store on 26 April, in-line with Scotland’s easing of retail restrictions for non-essential shops, while the newly refurbished Edinburgh store will open on 14 May.

Changing rooms will be open in John Lewis stores with appropriate safety measures in place, and children’s shoe fitting will return, as will in-person nursery appointments, home design advice, personal styling appointments and technology support.

Next day click and collect services will also resume in John Lewis shops, in addition to pick-up locations in Waitrose, Co-op and Booths - taking the total number of collect locations to over 900.

John Lewis Executive Director, Pippa Wicks, said: “We’re looking forward to reuniting customers with the joy of physical shopping, along with the excitement of our stores while also introducing our customers to stylish new products at prices they won’t expect.

“We’re also excited to be opening up much-needed services and helping customers choose those items that are harder to buy online - from the perfect mattress, to road testing the right pram or finding the right pair of jeans.

"We want to make sure the shopping experience is as fun and inspiring as it’s ever been, while also ensuring that our customers and partners feel safe.”

‘Customer Service Hosts’ will be assigned to welcoming customers into the stores, answering any questions while also managing customer numbers and queues both at entrances and busy areas of the shops.

The contactless payment limit in all shops had already been raised from from £30 to £45 to help customers minimise the need for contact while shopping, and that limit will be further increased to £100 by the end of the year.

After months of being unable to take back beauty product packaging, John Lewis is anticipating its busiest period ever for its ‘Beautycycle’ service, which rewards customers for bringing back empty and hard to recycle beauty product packaging.

From 19 April until 2 May - coinciding with World Earth Day – the retailer will be doubling the amount it gives customers for returning empty packaging, meaning that for every five items of packaging returned customers will be given £10 off their next beauty purchase until the end of April, 2021.

In its Kingston store, John Lewis will also reopen on 12 April with a vintage furniture trial, an exclusive new collaboration with Vinterior, the online vintage and antique market place. Customers will be able to choose from a selection of mid-century vintage furniture, including, dining tables, coffee tables, sideboards, drinks trolleys and chairs. The one-off vintage pieces have been “lovingly restored to the highest standards.”