The decision by Dame Sharon White to shut John Lewis’s stores in Watford and Birmingham, above, is another blow to the owners of shopping centres who are being hit by online rivals“Whenever I think of Watford, I think of John Lewis. It’s a landmark,” one shopper in the town said yesterday. It was a sentiment shared by thousandsWithin six hours of the employee-owned department stores group yesterday announcing plans to shut eight shops, more than 5,500 people had signed a petition to save the store in Watford. “I think this could be the end of Watford,” one wrote, while asking whether a “reasonable rent” could be the solution — unaware, like many shoppers, that John Lewis hasn’t been paying any rent on its Harlequin shopping centre site for years. The employee-owned retailer has enjoyed “anchor tenant” status in shopping centres, meaning that local councils and mall owners have wooed the partnership to commit to filling

Source: The Times July 09, 2020 23:03 UTC