Almost 200 retail jobs have been put at risk after supermarket Waitrose announced plans to close two of its UK stores.
The company, which forms part of the John Lewis Partnership, has earmarked its Newcastle city centre and Croydon stores for closure, affecting 123 people and 70 staff members respectively. Waitrose said it had taken the decision to close the store in Newcastle's Eldon Square, which has been trading for 14 years, amid “challenging” trading conditions.
The company said that the shop will close on November 12, subject to consultation with its partners working there, and that the announcement does not affect the John Lewis department store in Eldon Square. The firm said: “We have found trading challenging here in the last few years and, despite the best efforts of Partners, we have not been able to find a way to make the shop profitable in the long-term.
