Stop the closure of John Lewis Aberdeen

The Issue

John Lewis should drop plans to close their Aberdeen store.

John Lewis & Partners have been Aberdonians go-to department store since 1989 - bringing in people from all across the North East of Scotland to Aberdeen's City Centre. John Lewis has been an integral part of the city centre for decades, and an anchor business for the George Street area. Its closure would be a huge blow to regeneration plans for the city centre.

The news today of the closure of their store on George Street is yet another serious blow to Aberdeen's city centre economy - one, already heavily impacted by the effects of Covid-19 and pressures from the oil-downturn.

At a time when Aberdeen needs investment in our city centre, the City Council is demonstrating confidence in the city centre with plans to invest £150 million in a Masterplan Vison. We feel that this closure is a step in the wrong direction and that John Lewis should rise to that confidence in our city.

John Lewis is a co-operative business, and this decision puts the livelihoods of its 265 partners at risk.

We, therefore, ask that John Lewis & Partners reconsider their decision to close their Aberdeen Branch, which not only provides much-needed jobs in the city, but brings quality and customer service unparalleled by online shopping.

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Barry Black for Aberdeen CentralPetition Starter
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This petition had 2,871 supporters

The Issue

John Lewis should drop plans to close their Aberdeen store.

John Lewis & Partners have been Aberdonians go-to department store since 1989 - bringing in people from all across the North East of Scotland to Aberdeen's City Centre. John Lewis has been an integral part of the city centre for decades, and an anchor business for the George Street area. Its closure would be a huge blow to regeneration plans for the city centre.

The news today of the closure of their store on George Street is yet another serious blow to Aberdeen's city centre economy - one, already heavily impacted by the effects of Covid-19 and pressures from the oil-downturn.

At a time when Aberdeen needs investment in our city centre, the City Council is demonstrating confidence in the city centre with plans to invest £150 million in a Masterplan Vison. We feel that this closure is a step in the wrong direction and that John Lewis should rise to that confidence in our city.

John Lewis is a co-operative business, and this decision puts the livelihoods of its 265 partners at risk.

We, therefore, ask that John Lewis & Partners reconsider their decision to close their Aberdeen Branch, which not only provides much-needed jobs in the city, but brings quality and customer service unparalleled by online shopping.

avatar of the starter
Barry Black for Aberdeen CentralPetition Starter
Media enquiries

The Decision Makers

Pippa Wicks, Partner & Executive Director, John Lewis
Pippa Wicks, Partner & Executive Director, John Lewis
Responded
“We recently announced proposals to close eight John Lewis shops where we can unfortunately no longer profitably sustain a store. Our ambition, and expectation, was that we would remain part of the communities for many years to come and continue to serve our customers there - something we have taken great pride in. I therefore share in the huge disappointment that the news has caused so many people. The strength of feeling from our customers and the communities we serve underlines what a difficult decision proposing to close in these locations has been. However, we are sadly not immune to the well-known challenges facing so many businesses. The high street is going through its biggest change for a generation and we, like many others, have to adapt and change with it in order to ensure the John Lewis Partnership has a sustainable future. The eight shops we’re proposing to close were financially challenged prior to the pandemic and its effects, including three successive lockdowns and the acceleration of the switch to online shopping, has meant the impact on the future viability of these stores is too great. The difficult reality is that, despite the outstanding efforts of everyone working in these shops and the commitment of our customers, we do not believe the performance of the store can be financially improved. We will shortly discuss the planned closure in more detail during consultation with those affected. If we do close, we will make every effort to find them new roles in the Partnership and we have put together a package of support to help our colleagues. I appreciate my response is not the one you wanted to hear, but I can assure you that closing any shop is always a last resort and not something we do without exploring all alternatives first. Lastly, I would like to express my thanks to all our customers at the eight shops for their loyalty and again to everyone who has taken the time to contact us.”

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Petition created on 24 March 2021