// John Lewis, Harrods and Waitrose – aside from a few stores on the route of the funeral procession – will be closed on the day of the Queen’s funeral
// Although there is no legal requirement to close, it is thought that other retailers will follow suit and shut up shop for the day
A spokesperson from Next said: “In honour of Her Majesty and so our colleagues can pay their respects, all stores will be closed on Monday, 19 September.”
Marks & Spencer has confirmed that on Monday 19th September it will halt customer delivery services and close M&S-owned stores in the UK for the entire day, with some limited exceptions.
The department store retailer said that “due to the millions of expected mourners travelling on the day we will have a small number of stores open in the London area to support those paying their respects to buy food and refreshments.”
It said these stores will close by 10.30 am and remain closed for the rest of the day, except for four stores closest to Westminster Abbey and St George’s Chapel, Windsor which will reopen after the funeral service has been completed.
The retailer added that all colleagues who were scheduled to work will receive their normal pay.
The company will also be pausing all customer deliveries from M&S.com and will halt operations at its e-commerce distribution centre from 6 am until the evening shift while franchise partners located in key travel hubs and public service locations such as hospitals are “likely to remain open.”
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said: “All of us at M&S – and indeed across the country and beyond – feel a real and deep sense of loss and sadness at the passing of Her Majesty, as well as huge respect for the grace with which His Majesty King Charles III and the wider Royal Family have led the nation in our mourning.
“It is right that we make changes to our operational arrangements on the day of the funeral to ensure our colleagues across our stores and distribution network can participate, whilst supporting customers as they show their respects too.”
John Lewis has confirmed that all of its department stores will close next Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral.
The vast majority of Waitrose supermarkets will also close although a limited number of branches on the route of the funeral procession may stay open to serve those that attend.
John Lewis Partnership chief operating officer Andrew Murphy said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty The Queen.
“We are closing our stores on the day of her funeral as a mark of respect, and because we believe this is the right thing to do for our Partners and customers.”
Meanwhile, Harrods will also close its Knightsbridge store on the day. A spokesman told Drapers: “We will continue to commemorate the life of Her Majesty the Queen and pay our respects by closing the store on the day of the State Funeral.”
Primark has also confirmed that all of its high street stores will be closed. The retailer also confirmed it would close its depots and head office in the UK too.
It is thought that other retailers will follow suit, with Poundland, Homebase and Apple stores set to close on the day.
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King Charles III announced that the Queen’s funeral, which will take place on Monday 19 September, would be a Bank Holiday.
However, there is no official guidance that retailers should shut on the day. The Government advice is: “Some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the state funeral, however, this is at the discretion of individual businesses.”
It is thought that many supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons, will close between 10am and 2pm to allow staff to watch the funeral on TV, according to The Sun.
Royal Mail has also revealed that it will suspend postal services on the day of the funeral, which could impact retail deliveries.
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