John Lewis set to close more stores as sales hit by coronavirus

High street giant John Lewis has warned over further “painful” store closures due to the pandemic.

It comes as the group swung to a loss of £517m for the year to January, against profits of £146m the previous year.

Chairman Sharon White told the BBC: “There is no getting away from the fact that some areas can no longer profitably sustain a John Lewis store,” she added in a statement.

“Regrettably, we do not expect to reopen all our John Lewis shops at the end of lockdown, which will also have implications for our supply chain.

“We will do everything we can to lessen the impact and will continue to provide community funds to support local areas.

“We want to ensure our stores reflect how customers want to shop – ‘right space, right place’.”