With the festive season getting closer, brands and supermarkets such as John Lewis and Waitrose have revealed their plans for opening times.

John Lewis and Waitrose have revealed that more than 300 stores will stay closed on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, despite this time of year being popular with shoppers.

This announcement comes as recent years have seen more supermarkets allow their staff to take days off during the key holiday dates, Sky News reports.

The likes of Home Bargains are expected to close all of its branches again on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, allowing its staff to enjoy a break and spend time with loved ones.

John Lewis and Waitrose to close more than 300 stores on Boxing Day 2024

Big brands such as Wilko and The Range closed their stores on Boxing Day in 2023, so the UK could see additional closures during the festive season again this year.

Despite the large number of John Lewis and Waitrose branches closing, some premium Waitrose sites attached to petrol stations will stay open during the Christmas period.

The John Lewis stores in Trafford and Stratford shopping centre will also stay open, according to Sky News.

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John Lewis Partnership says annual profits would be “significantly” higher

The John Lewis Partnership revealed sharply narrowed half-year losses earlier this month and said annual profits would be “significantly” higher as its overhaul starts to bear fruit.

The employee-owned group, which runs the department store chain and Waitrose supermarket arm, reported pre-tax losses of £30 million for the six months to July 27, down 49% on the £59 million reported a year earlier.

The John Lewis department store business saw half-year sales fall 3% to £2 billion, but Waitrose notched up 5% sales growth as average prices rose just over 2%.

Its losses were also boosted as the group stripped out £78 million in costs, revealing that 300 jobs across the group were axed in the first half.

The group said while the consumer and economic backdrop was “uncertain”, it was confident of a marked improvement in underlying profits at the full-year stage.

But it gave no indication over whether it would reinstate its annual staff bonus, which has not been handed out for two years running.

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Nish Kankiwala, chief executive of the John Lewis Partnership, told the PA news agency the group would make a decision on the staff bonus in March next year.

John Lewis said: “We have historically delivered the majority of our profits in the second half of the year.

“Despite the environment for our customers remaining uncertain, we expect to maintain financial momentum from consistent delivery of our multi-year transformation.

“As a result, we are confident that full-year pre-exceptional profits should be significantly above the £42 million we reported in 2023-24.”

Mr Kankiwala said the “buzz is back at John Lewis”.