John Lewis is offering assistance to customers and staff who were formerly John Lewis partners impacted by the collapse of The Floor Room, Retail Week can reveal.
The Floor Room, which traded from 34 John Lewis stores, went into administration earlier this month with the loss of around 200 jobs.
The business was only launched in John Lewis stores last year, when partners from John Lewis were transferred to it, and was owned by Nestware, which also controlled Carpetright. The latter’s collapse precipitated that of The Floor Room, which shared Carpetright’s infrastructure.
Former John Lewis partners were angry and disappointed by the development, so soon after moving to The Floor Room, and because they were not eligible for the benefits that would have come had they lost their jobs while partners at John Lewis.
A John Lewis spokesperson told Retail Week that it will be proactively offering roles where it can to former partners at The Floor Room, as well as other practical support such as help with CV writing.
The spokesperson said: ”We’re committed to helping former partners who transferred to The Floor Room when they opened their concessions with us. We’re already in touch with them to discuss what their needs for support may be to secure new employment or other help we can provide, such as access to our wellbeing services.”
John Lewis said it would act as a “safety net” for customers left out of pocket by The Floor Room’s collapse. The retailer said customers should first contact administrator PwC, which will advise on options such as refunds through credit card companies or finance providers.
However, “for customers who don’t have these options available, we’ll act as a safety net to make sure they get their money back”. John Lewis said it “will be here to support [customers] every step of the way”.
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