High street names axed

The John Lewis name is to appear on department stores nationwide

Some of the oldest names in the high street are to disappear in a £300m makeover of the struggling John Lewis chain.

The John Lewis badge is to be extended through the John Lewis Partnership's 25 department stores, many of which are still named after their founders.

Southampton's 103-year-old Tyrrell & Green store, which closed on Saturday, is the first to be rebadged, and will reopen as John Lewis on Thursday at a new site.

Jessop & Sons, in Nottingham, is "likely" to change its name next year when the store is refurbished after the store's work councils backed the rebadge, John Lewis told BBC News Online.

Nationwide revamp

Further name changes would be considered as the partnership, which employs 50,000 people, rolls out a revamp of its department stores.

It is always a discussion point at meetings of branch councils. I can't think of any branch which said they did not want to change

Greg Williams, John Lewis Partnership

"It is something that is being considered whenever we do a major refit, rather than being a major project on its own," John Lewis spokesman Greg Williams told BBC News Online.

"It is always a discussion point at meetings of branch councils. I can't think of any branch which said they did not want to change."

The chain also includes Caleys in Windsor, Robert Sayle in Cambridge and Bainbridge in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Peter Jones retained

But the name of Peter Jones, one of the partnership's two central London stores, is secure, Mr Williams said.

"Otherwise you would get two shops within the five miles of each other called by the same name," he said.

The rebadging follows the group's announcement two weeks ago of a 43% drop in half-year profits, a decline blamed on one-off costs including the rebranding of 11 Somerfield stores as Waitrose outlets.

Sector theme

It also follows the makeover Marks & Spencer is implementing in an effort to regain prominence in the competitive high street retail sector.

Sales in three new-style M&S shops in Fosse Park, Leicestershire, Sutton, south London and Kensington, central London are 16% ahead of last year, reports say.