John Lewis and Greggs prepare to reopen stores as lockdown eases

Snacks giant Greggs is seeking to open branches again, while shoe repairs and dry cleaning specialist Timpson will reopen 40 branches in supermarkets today.

John Lewis Partnership executive director Andrew Murphy said that the retailer could start lifting the shutters on its 50 branches next month, The Mail on Sunday reported.

The reopening, which would likely happen over a period of three to six weeks, will not happen until the government and health authorities signal that restrictions can be relaxed.

Murphy said John Lewis is “modelling for scenarios where different sizes of shops are able to open at different points in time”.

He explained: “Even in a scenario where we are theoretically able to open all our shops on the first day, we wouldn’t do that. We would open in a minimum of three tranches.”

The first stage would probably comprise stores with car parks so that employees could drive to work and not have to use public transport.

Big stores in cities such as London, Birmingham and Glasgow would likely be among the last to reopen.

The retailer is considering what in-store measures may be needed, such as social distancing. John Lewis is learning lessons from stablemate grocery business Waitrose, which has stayed open throughout the outbreak.

Murphy said: “We’re really mindful that public sentiment has changed and big business will need to prioritise health and safety above all else. There will be no headlong rush to get our shops open just because we can.”

Food-on-the-go group Greggs is also expected to make similar changes as it considers reopening.

A Greggs spokesperson told The Sun: “We want to play our part in getting the nation back up and running again, so we are planning to conduct a limited trial with volunteers to explore how we can reopen our shops with new measures in place that keep our colleagues and customers as safe as we can when we reopen at scale.”

John Lewis and Greggs are the latest retailers to plan reopening ahead of lockdown relaxations.

Some retailers that had closed, such as B&Q and Homebase, have begun opening some branches.

Separately, John Lewis is reopening its Herbert Parkinson textiles factory in Lancashire, which will make protective gowns for the NHS rather than the curtains, pillows and duvets which it normally manufactures. The factory is to produce 8,000 washable, clinical gowns for the Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust.