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

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 national mourning period, there is “no obligation to suspend business”.

It added that some businesses “may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the state funeral”, but added that this would be “at the discretion of individual businesses”.

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

Supermarkets and department stores

• John Lewis said its department stores and Waitrose shops will close on the day, but an exception might be made for a “very limited number” of Waitrose stores on the route of the funeral procession, but even these shops will close for the funeral itself
• Sainsbury’s and Argos stores will be closed, including groceries online and Argos fast-track delivery. Convenience stores and petrol stations will be open from 5pm to 10pm. Select stores in London will open to those attending the funeral in person
• Aldi stores will close for the day
• Lidl stores will also be closed.
• Tesco’s large stores will be closed all day and Express stores will be closed until 5pm
• M&S says stores it owns will be closed all day with “some limited exceptions”. There will be no customer delivery services. A small number of stores in London will be open to help those queuing to pay their respects to the Queen but these will close by 10.30am and remain closed for the day, except for the four stores closest to Westminster Abbey and St George’s Chapel, Windsor , which will reopen after the funeral. Franchise partners in key travel hubs and public service locations such as hospitals are likely to remain open.

Sky News has also asked Morrisons, Iceland and Asda for their plans.

More on the Queen:
How can you see the monarch lying in state?
Football matches to resume
What happens next and what changes?

Shopping centers

• Overgate Shopping Center in Dundee will open as normal, but individual retailers will choose whether they open or close their shops
• St James Quarter in Edinburgh will be closed with only a small number of food and beverage-related outlets opening later in the day. The Edinburgh Style and student evening events will also be postponed
• Landsec said its shopping centers will observe bank holiday opening times but retailers will make their own decision. Landsec’s 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 Galleries in Glasgow, Lewisham Shopping Centre, West 12 Shopping Center in Shepherd’s Bush and others
• Westfield London and Westfield Stratford are likely to remain open, although a number of stores within them will close for the day
• Manchester’s Trafford Center said its plans had not been finalized but any updates would be published on its website
• Hammerson’s shopping centers will be open next Monday and a number of them are expected to show the funeral on screens, a spokesperson said. Hammerson’s shopping centers include the Bullring and Grand Central in Birmingham, London’s Brent Cross, Highcross in Leicester, Bristol’s Cabot Circus, and Croydon’s Centrale & Whitgift
• British Land said its retail places would remain open but a number of retailers were expected to close and shoppers should check with them individually. British Land’s retail centers include Meadowhall in Sheffield, Whiteley in Fareham, Fort Kinnaird in Edinburgh, Drake Circus in Plymouth, Giltbrook, Nottingham, Mostyn Champneys in Llandudno, and Forster Square in Bradford

Sky News has also asked Eldon Square in Newcastle, Braehead in Scotland, Victoria Square in Belfast, Metrocentre in Gateshead for their plans.

Retailers

• Primark stores, depots and head offices in the UK will be closed
• Apple stores across the UK will reportedly close for the day
• Lakeland will be closing all of its operations, including its stores, for the day
• All WH Smith High Street stores will be closed for the day. All UK WH Smith Travel stores will be closed for at least the duration of the funeral
• Halfords stores, garages, and support centers will be closed, and Halfords Mobile Experts will not be operating. A spokesperson said that any customers who have booked appointments in stores, Autocentres or with National Tires will be contacted to reschedule
• All Next stores will be closed for the day
• Zara stores will be closed
• Waterstones stores will be closed

Sky News has also asked Boots, H&M, Joules, Clarks, Card Factory and TK Maxx for their plans.

Read more on the Queen:
Prince Harry’s tribute to ‘granny’
Who will be at the Queen’s funeral (and who won’t)
King Charles says he feels ‘weight of history which surrounds us’ in first address to parliament as monarch

Post

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

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

Around 2,500 branches are run by the likes of WH Smith, Tesco, Co-Op, Spar, and these businesses will decide on their plans, although a Post Office spokesperson said it was “likely” most of these branches would also be closed.

They added: “The rest of our network of branches are operated by independent postmasters and typically are located in convenience stores. It will be the postmaster’s decision whether to open on the day.

“On weekends, we usually have around 4,000 branches open and would normally expect a similar number to be open on a regular bank holiday.

“However, it may be that some independent postmasters, who would normally open their branch on a bank holiday, decide to close their branch on 19 September to mark the passing of Her Majesty.”

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the day of the Queen’s funeral would operate in the same way as other bank holidays.

There will be no statutory entitlement to time off, although employers can include it as part of a worker’s leave entitlement and employers are encouraged to “respond sensitively to requests from workers who wish to take time off”.