John Lewis has responded to the petition. They have only stated what we already knew through the media. They claim there was no alternative and this was a last resort for the company, but a future after the current pandemic is unforeseeable. For this reason, I cannot understand why a trial period for a store such as Sheffield wouldn't occur. Especially considering how big of a city Sheffield is. If the city of Sheffield doesn't meet the demographic and target market of John Lewis then, as the fourth biggest city in the country, they may wish to reconsider that demographic for the future of their company. This puts us in a very difficult position because JL is not interested in moving toward a solution.

My personal opinion after speaking to many people including staff about this decision is that the executive team doesn’t want to put money into improving their Sheffield store and sees online shopping as a cheaper and more profitable solution. But they are not taking all factors into account, for instance, their brand image could be damaged after this which will cause customers to go to other online providers (e.g. Amazon).

Yet again we see another company placing profits ahead of their customers and employees. The only business plan they seem to want to follow is that of increasing profits and decreasing cost with complete disregard for the people they are meant to care about. As a partnership, I and many others assumed that this company was different and cared more about their customers and staff. That does not seem to be the case.

I have reached out to the council but they have not responded. The SCC has not utilised the petition to improve their standing and I can only assume from their unresponsiveness that they aren’t interested in doing so.

The councils unwillingness joined with JLs refusal to reconsider their proposal makes it incredibly difficult for us to make any sort of difference. This could well have an impact on John Lewis’s brand image and may negatively affect the companies reputation, especially in the north.

Thank you for your support in this movement. You have all contributed to this petition and I can't thank you all enough. 

Sam