John Lewis store in Birmingham will never reopen
It was confirmed today by the West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, that the John Lewis store in Birmingham's Grand Central will not reopen.
The store made the announcement on July 9 when it was met with outrage from regional business leaders, including Andy Street - himself the former John Lewis managing director.
He, along with other business and council leaders, had been urging the chain to reverse what he called the "dreadful mistake" of closing its Birmingham branch.
But despite this, it's been confirmed today that the closure will go ahead.
"Having had a productive meeting and subsequent correspondence with John Lewis bosses, including the chair Dame Sharon White, we are astounded by the decision to press ahead with the closure of the Birmingham store."
In a statement today Andy Street said that there is already interest from a number of organisations in taking over the vacant space.
"The Grand Central location is iconic for Birmingham, and we will now work with Hammerson to make sure the space is filled promptly and appropriately."
In July, John Lewis said,
"Closing a shop is always incredibly difficult and today’s announcement will come as very sad news to customers and Partners... Redundancies are always an absolute last resort and we will do everything we can to keep as many Partners as possible within our business."
- Sharon White, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership
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