// John Lewis Partnership said its department stores will lower prices on unsold stock
// The plans come as the partnership seeks ways to boost footfall
// The parent company of John Lewis and Waitrose recently warned of further store closures
John Lewis Partnership has announced plans to lower prices in its department store brand ahead of reopening stores in England this April.
The plans come as the partnership seeks ways to boost footfall, particularly as stores remain shut nationwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new campaign will be titled “John Lewis quality at prices you wouldn’t expect”.
READ MORE:
- John Lewis Partnership slumps to £517m loss; warns on more store closures
- Will John Lewis’s mini shops in Waitrose help turn it around?
The parent company of John Lewis and Waitrose recently warned of further store closures as it swung to a £517 million annual loss for the year ending January 30.
The group said it does not expect all its John Lewis shops to reopen at the end of the current lockdown, though it did not specify how many of its 42 John Lewis shops are under threat.
The latest imminent store closures suggests that further jobs could be at risk, after 1300 were impacted by the eight John Lewis store closures last year.
John Lewis executive director Pippa Wicks said the department store chain is preparing to cut prices on unsold stock.
However, she said John Lewis will “not be Argos for the middle classes”.
“When we open up from lockdown you will see in our stores lots of new entry price points, lots of other products repriced at different levels,” Wicks said.
Meanwhile, John Lewis Partnership chairwoman Sharon White said John Lewis had assessed its pricing structure and readjusted its entry price points.
“We’re really going to be dialling up our focus on value with new pricing later this year – we want customers to think, ‘Gosh this is John Lewis quality, but at prices that you wouldn’t expect’,” White said.
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