UK’s John Lewis to Close Eight Stores With Possible Loss of 1,300 Jobs

A man wearing a protective face mask walks past the front entrance of John Lewis department store on Oxford Street in central London on the afternoon of March 21, 2020. Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images

LONDON—British department store chain John Lewis is to close eight stores with a possible loss of 1,300 jobs after the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the switch from in–store shopping to online.

John Lewis said it would continue to invest heavily in e-commerce as online sales look set to represent around 60 to 70 percent of total sales this year and next, compared with 40 percent prior to the COVID-19 crisis.