Which stores will be open and which will be closed on the day of the Queen’s funeral? | Business newsletter

The Queen’s funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey in central London on Monday 19 September, which has been designated a bank holiday.

The government has said that, during the period of national mourning, there is no obligation to “suspend business”.

It added that some businesses “may want to consider closing or postponing events, especially on national days of mourning”, but added that this would be “at the discretion of individual businesses”.

So let’s take a look at some of the big UK businesses and find out what their plans are.

Supermarkets and department stores

The John Lewis Partnership will close department stores and Waitrose stores on the day of the funeral. Chief executive Andrew Murphy said the decision was made “as a sign of respect, and because we believe this is the right thing to do for our partners and customers”.

An exception may be made for “a very limited number” of Waitrose stores on the funeral route to cater to the public, who will be queuing for hours, but even those This will also be closed for funerals.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said Sainsbury’s and Argos stores would be closed “in honor of the Queen and so our colleagues can pay their respects”.

The closures include online grocery and fast delivery Argos. Convenience stores and gas stations will be open from 5pm to 10pm, while a select number of stores in central London will be open to cater to those attending the funeral in person.

Aldi stores will be closed for the day.

Sky News also asked Morrisons, Tesco, M&S, Lidl, Iceland and Asda about their plans.

More about the Queen:
How can you see the monarch is lying in the state?
Football matches will continue
What happens next and what changes?

mall

The Overgate Shopping Center in Dundee said it would open as usual, but individual retailers inside the mall will choose to open or close their stores.

A Landsec spokesman said its shopping malls will monitor bank holiday opening times but added: “Some of our brand partners may close or operate on weekends.” Times are different from normal, so we ask guests to please check with them directly before traveling.”

Landsec retail spaces include Trinity Leeds, Bluewater in Kent, White Rose Center in Leeds, Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, St David’s Dewi Sant in Cardiff, Junction 32 in Yorkshire, Braintree Village in Essex, Buchanan Gallery in Glasgow , Lewisham Mall, West 12 Shepherd’s Bush Shopping Center and others.

Westfield London and Westfield Stratford are likely to remain open, although a spokesman said some stores will be closed for the day.

Manchester’s Old Trafford center say their plans are yet to be finalized but any updates will be published on their website.

A spokesperson said Hammerson’s shopping malls will open next Monday and some of them are expected to show funerals on screens. Hammerson shopping centers include Bullring and Grand Central in Birmingham, Brent Cross in London, Highcross in Leicester, Bristol’s Cabot Circus and Croydon’s Centrale & Whitgift.

Sky News also asked St James’s Quarter in Edinburgh, British Land (owner of shopping malls including Meadowhall), Eldon Square in Newcastle, Braehead in Scotland, Victoria Square in Belfast, Metrocentre in Gateshead about the plan. their plan.

Retailer

A Primark spokesperson said all of its UK stores, warehouses and headquarters will close on September 19 “to give our colleagues an opportunity to pay their respects and follow up.” funeral of Queen Elizabeth II”. They will reopen as usual from Tuesday, September 20.

Apple stores across the UK are said to be closed for the day.

Lakeland will close all of its operations, including stores, for the day.

All WH Smith High Street stores will be closed all day next Monday. A spokesman said all UK WH Smith Travel stores will be closed for at least the duration of the funeral.

Halfords said its stores, garages and support centers will be closed and Halfords Mobility Specialists will be closed on September 19 “to allow our colleagues to join the National mourning”. A spokesperson said any customers who have booked an appointment in store, Autocentres or with National Tires will be contacted to reschedule.

All subsequent stores will be closed for the day.

Sky News also asked Boots, H&M, Waterstones, Joules, Clarks, Card Factory, Zara and TK Maxx about their plans.

Read more about the Queen:
Prince Harry pays tribute to ‘grandmother’
Who will attend the Queen’s funeral (and who won’t)
King Charles says he feels ‘the weight of history surrounds us’ in his first speech to parliament as monarch

parcel

Royal Mail said its services would be suspended on the day of the funeral, but the picture is a bit more complicated at the Post Office.

The Post Office has 11,500 branches but only 114 are directly managed by the Post Office – 114 of which will be closed for the day.

About 2,500 branches are operated by WH Smith, Tesco, Co-Op, Spar and these businesses will decide on their plans, although a Post Office spokesman said it was “likely” most This branch will also be closed.

They added: “The rest of our network of branches is operated by independent postmen and is usually located in convenience stores. Opening days will be determined by the postmaster. determined.

“On the weekend we usually have about 4,000 branches open and would normally expect a similar number to open on a regular bank holiday.

“However, it is possible that some independent postal workers, who normally open their branches on bank holidays, decided to close their branches on September 19 to mark the passing of Queen.”

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the Queen’s funeral date would be the same as other bank holidays.

There will be no statutory right to time off, although employers may include it as part of an employee’s leave entitlement, and employers are encouraged to “respond a delicately requested by the employee who wants to leave the job”.