// Waitrose will close both its Newcastle city centre and Croydon town centre stores on 12 November
// The grocer said that trading had been challenging at the stores and it could not make them profitable in the long term
Waitrose is set to close its stores in Newcastle and Croydon as it admits it can not make the shops profitable.
The stores in Eldon Square in Newcastle city centre and George Street in central Croydon will both close on 12 November.
Almost 200 jobs are at risk, with 123 partners working in the Newcastle store and 70 in Croydon.
Waitrose owner John Lewis Partnership said it would try to find impacted staff new roles within the firm, including transferring to local Waitrose stores or working for John Lewis or Waitrose’s online businesses.
READ MORE: Waitrose posts first statutory loss in 10 years
John Lewis Partnership said trading had been “challenging” at the stores and “despite the best efforts of Partners, we have not been able to find a way to make the shops profitable in the long-term”.
The store in Eldon Square shopping centre in Newcastle city centre opened 14 years ago. The retailer said the John Lewis department store in Eldon Square would not be impacted by the closure.
The Croydon store closure marks John Lewis Partnership’s exit of the town after it closed its At Home store on Purley Way in 2020.
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