Brilliant letter to John Lewis 'complains' store is closed on Boxing Day

Updated
John Lewis closed Boxing Day
John Lewis closed Boxing Day



'Dear John Lewis', the letter reads, "Just who do you think you are? Whilst all the other shops were open, convincing people to spend money they don't have on things they don't need, some of them from as early as 6am, you have the audacity to be closed on Boxing Day, allowing your employees to spend time with their families at Christmas?! Ridiculous. Shameless."

Jason Snelling posted the letter on the John Lewis Facebook page on the morning of the 27th December. Of course, he added, "I'm teasing. I think it's absolutely wonderful that you don't allow the crass commercialisation of Christmas to deprive your staff of a two uninterrupted days with their families."

The comedy continued: "Because Christmas isn't about getting up at 5am to open up shop for a January sale that inexplicably starts on the 26th of December. It isn't about getting a new television with a marginally improved functionality over the one you already have. It's certainly not about queuing outside the jewellery store like it's a ride at Disney Land.

"It's about feeling a bit sick after eating one too many mince pies, being woken up at 5am by an excitable toddler and most importantly of all, having a lie in and a cup of tea on Boxing Day morning."

He concluded: "Please never change! ...Your loyal customer and adopted father of one of your fine washing machines."

Closing for Boxing Day is a long-standing John Lewis policy, reflecting the fact that it is run by the employees or 'partners', and policies reflect their wishes as well as the desire to pursue profits. This is the first year, however, it has received quite so much attention.

The letter garnered more than 370,000 likes and 16,000 comments. It has been shared 53,000 times by people who are overwhelmingly supportive of the store's decision to remain closed. The store's Facebook feed has also filled with notes of support for the policy.
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Pay the price

John Lewis will doubtless have paid a price for its decision to remain closed, as Boxing Day was a massive sales success this year. The number of people visiting high streets on Boxing Day was up 11.7% from last year, according to analyst at Springboard. Visits to shopping centres were up 7.8% and retail parks 3.2%.

Selfridges was one of the biggest beneficiaries from the boom, and took more than £2 million between 9am and 10am on Boxing Day. It was apparently the best first hour of trading in the store's entire history.

However, John Lewis benefits from the fact that this year has seen a huge boom in online shopping, and because High Street stores don't have to be staffed in order to launched an online sale, John Lewis was able to cash in on this phenomenon even on Christmas Day itself.

Apparently it reported a 10.7% rise in sales on Christmas Day, with the busiest time between 9pm and 10pm - presumably when everyone who bought disappointing presents went home or to bed and people were free to buy themselves the things they really wanted.

But what do you think? Do you hit the high street for the Boxing Day sales? Is it a great family tradition? Is it your best chance to grab an incredible bargain? Or would you be happy to stay online for the day and give staff the day off? Let us know in the comments.



Boxing Day Sales: 22 Million People Expected to Shop in the UK
Boxing Day Sales: 22 Million People Expected to Shop in the UK



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