‘You’d come out feeling better’: shoppers on changes at John Lewis

theguardian.com:

When John Lewis announced it would not reopen its Sheffield store after the pandemic, Margaret Dakin was devastated. “The shock was literally like being hit,” she says.

Dakin, 62, has marked life’s big occasions in the city’s John Lewis store. “I bought every significant item from that shop: material for my wedding dress, outfits for grand occasions … my oven,” she says of the department store known until 2002 as Cole Brothers. “When I bought my first house as a skint local government officer in the 1980s, I saved up enough money to buy my living room carpet from there.”

It had also been where, as a young worker, she bought herself treats: “a lipstick, some nice tights, shoes in the sale”.

As well as offering high-quality goods and service, the retired housing manager says the store provided a social element. “It was a nice building – it’s always been somewhere to meet friends, or if you felt a bit fed up, you could spend two hours there and come out feeling a bit better.”

“You get to know the staff. I would go and buy shoes and the man knew what I liked – same with the people in the furniture department. Online shopping is not the same; I like to touch what I’m buying.”

In Dakin’s view, losing the department store “ripped the centre out of Sheffield”. Her mother-in-law, who is 85, would go there once a week; she hasn’t been into the city centre since the store closed its doors. “She has become increasingly isolated,” she says. “That was her treat – it makes you feel like you’re still in society.”

The company’s Sheffield department store is one of several that closed during the pandemic. And it could be the end of an era, after reports signalled the loss-making firm may dilute its 100% employee-owned model after 70 years.

Sharo