John Lewis closes all 50 shops for first time in its 155-year history due to coronavirus (including flagship Oxford Street store that last closed when it was bombed by the Nazis in 1940) By Isabella Nikolic For Mailonline Published: 15:37 GMT, 21 March 2020 | Updated: 16:00 GMT, 21 March 2020 John Lewis Partnership has … Read more
Historians still quibble over whether Napoleon Bonaparte actually said it or not. Yet it has stuck. And it was certainly not meant as a compliment. ‘England,’ scoffed the former French Emperor in his twilight years, ‘is a nation of shopkeepers.’ To which, right now, one can only respond: ‘Amen to that.’ For as we confront … Read more
Topshop employees say they have been laid off after the Arcadia Group closed its 300 UK stores an hour before the government announced its coronavirus job retention plan. The group owned by billionaire Sir Philip Green said in an emailed statement: ‘In line with many other retailers, the Group has made the difficult decision to … Read more
M&S considers ‘temporary’ closures and moving staff to food stores with clothing sales set to take a big hit from the coronavirus outbreak Marks and Spencer is preparing to ‘temporarily’ close some stores It also plans to slash capital investment, dividend and defer staff pay rises M&S does not expect trading to come back to normal … Read more
GameStop says it provides ‘essential goods’ like grocery stores and pharmacies to justify why their stores will remain open during the coronavirus pandemic The video game retailer sent a memo to managers at its 5,700 retail locations It instructs managers to resist local attempts to close its stores by claiming the company sells ‘essential’ electronics … Read more
A DJ has been slammed for cashing in on the coronavirus panic after he made £3,000 in two hours selling premium toilet paper out of his van on the side of the road. Lee Marshall parked in a layby and sold 600 cases of 45 rolls for £15 each. He bought the premium roll from … Read more
Wealthy shoppers were offered an abundance of fresh organic produce today while customers at Sainsbury’s and Asda were confronted by empty shelves due to panic-buying amid the coronavirus pandemic. Visitors to Harrods were able to choose between three types of tomatoes – including Juno cherry tomatoes selling at £40 per kg – up to 14 … Read more
Samsung is the latest tech giant to fall victim to a coronavirus shutdown. The South Korean firm announced the closure of its Experience Stores across the US and Canada to help limit the spread of the virus. Repair Centers will continue to stay open, but will be working on a limited schedule – Monday to … Read more
Zara shuts 3,785 stores worldwide as fashion chain suffers ‘very significant’ impact from coronavirus pandemic Owner Inditex said sales had tumbled by a quarter in first two weeks of March ‘Too early’ to quantify future impact of outbreak but chain ‘confident of strength’ No stores have yet been affected by bosses are ‘closely watching’ official … Read more
Tesco is expected to announce all its 24-hour stores will from tonight close at 10pm and McDonald’s will switch to only take-aways and drive-thrus as they attempt to cope with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Bosses at the UK’s biggest supermarket have decided the stores will reopen at 6am on Wednesday morning, after facing huge demand … Read more