John Lewis's closes its doors at historic site
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May 27 2008 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post
Curtain down on shopping era
THE curtain came down on more than 150 years of shopping history yesterday, when one of Liverpool’s best-loved stores closed its doors for the last time.
Hundreds of serving and former staff gathered at John Lewis’s at the close of business yesterday to mark the end of an era for the Basnett Street department store.
On Thursday, John Lewis’s new 260,000ft complex will open for business as one of the anchor stores at the new Liverpool One development.
It is all a far cry from the department store’s origins as a bonnet shop, employing 13 people when it opened in 1853.
And yesterday was an opportunity for staff members to gather around the famous grand staircase and share their memories of the iconic Liverpool store, known to generations of families as the upmarket George Henry Lee’s.
The managing director, Margaret Jacques, read out a moving poem about the history of the building, which had many of those present in tears.
Among those in attendance for the closing ceremony yesterday were current staff members Maria Hewitt, Meryl Hartley and Lynn Balshaw, who between them have more than 100 years’ service.
All three will be transferring to the new store when it opens later this week. Lynn, 60, who started work as a junior clerk at the store in 1966, said: “It’s been very emotional and we’ve all had a good cry.
“It’s changed an awful lot in the time I’ve been here, and it’s a lot more informal. When I started, it was olde worlde, the restaurant was silver service and there was a hairdressing salon.
“Now it’s a lot more informal and all the staff are known by their first names.” Colleague Maria Hewitt, a relative newcomer with 28 years’ experience, said: “It’s just like one big family. Today was my day off, but I couldn’t not come for the closing of the doors because I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.
“But we’re all looking forward to doing our best when we get to the new building as well.”
Meryl Hartley, who joined the firm straight from school at the age of 16 and has been at the store for 32 years, said: “The managing director gave the most wonderful speech from the bottom of her heart, and there were quite a lot of tears.”
The former and serving staff members were joined yesterday by those who are stocking the new branch, along with many who work in John Lewis’s warehouse in Speke.
Over the next few days, a military-style operation will see more than £1m worth of stock transferred to the new store. It will be one of John Lewis’s largest branches outside London, and is 40% larger than the Basnett Street store it replaces.
The current John Lewis site will be temporarily taken over by Marks & Spencer while it refurbishes its own Church Street store, before Rapid Hardware moves in permanently in 2011.
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