Retailers Close Stores For Queen Elizabeth II Funeral; Hospitality Brands Intend To Open Their Doors

UK retailers are under no obligation to suspend business on Monday September 19th, but many have announced that they will do so as a mark of respect for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The funeral will held in London at Westminster Abbey and the date has been declared a bank holiday, allowing many workers the opportunity to mark the occasion and pay their respects.

Some major sporting events have already been postponed, and there has been a flurry of announcements from UK businesses regarding arrangements for the day itself, following a national period of mourning which officially ends the day after the Queen’s funeral.

The decision about whether to cease trading on the day is “at the discretion of individual businesses”, according to government guidance. A majority of leading retailers have announced closure or reduced trading on the day.

The leading grocery chains will close larger stores and cease online deliveries, in a bid to give colleagues the opportunity to mark the occasion. Tesco, ASDA, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsburys and Morrisons have all announced they will close stores, with some brands announcing that smaller convenience stores will be open for limited hours.

“All our supermarkets will be closed on Monday, 19 September as a mark of respect and so colleagues can pay tribute to Her Majesty,” a spokeswoman for Morrisons supermarket confirmed. The retailer has also stated it has ‘turned down’ sound levels on self-checkouts with store music and tannoy announcements switched off as a mark of respect.

Other retail brands including John Lewis & Marks & Spencer will also close on the day of the state funeral. John Lewis confirmed that its stores and Waitrose shops will close on the day with an exception made for a “limited number” of food stores on the procession route. Stores that open will only do so before and after the service and will be closed during it.

Fast-fashion retailer Primark confirmed that the store network would close for the day as will luxury department stores Harrods and Selfridges.

Beyond the retail sector, many other industries have announced closures including fast-food chain McDonalds whose outlets will all be closed on Monday. The brand announced on social media that it will close all its UK branches “to allow everyone at McDonald’s to pay their respects to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”

Whilst the cinema chains Cineworld and Showcase will close for the day, organisations like the Fullers Group have confirmed its 400 public houses will be open for business, emphasising their role in the local community.

“We anticipate that Fullers pubs will be opening on the day of the funeral to provide a place for people to come together and pay their respects”, explained a spokesperson for the chain.

The decision to close has not been plain-sailing for one major UK organisation, Center Parcs which owns multiple holiday sites across the kingdom.

The company announced a decision that its sites would close on Monday 19th September, despite the company’s policy to be open 365-days a year. This announcement from Center Parcs explained its decision: “a mark of respect and to allow as many of our colleagues as possible to be part of this historic moment”.

However the brand presented many customers with a complex reality, with guests due to check in and check out of the company’s five UK sites on that day.

Furthermore, guests who were due to be residents for the full day were asked to leave the premises and not return for 24 hours.

With many customers having booked and paid for holidays months in advance, some with pre-paid activites on the day, the brand made a u-turn on the decision after a tidal wave of complaints and negative social media postings.

One customer wrote on the company’s Facebook page: ‘We were five related families getting together for our annual family holiday – with two small children and two dogs, three hours from home! Where the hell are we supposed to go for one night?! It’s that or cancel some or all of the much-anticipated holiday!”

Yet the reversal isn’t a complete one. Guests on site will have very little to do as activities and facilities at the sites will shut down for the duration of the ceremony. The holiday brand has suggested that its guests ‘remain in their lodges’ during the time of the service, which again has created further online furore against the business.

Center Parcs, which is owned by Canadian investment firm Brookfield Property Partners, is still suggesting that people who are due to arrive on Monday actually delay their arrival until the following day.

The official guidance following the passing of the country’s longest serving monarch has left many organisations to navigate the right course of action for their stakeholders and indeed there is no-rule book. The scenario created by Center Parcs is confirmation that brands must be acutely aware of their customers’ zeitgeist.

The hospitality industry in the main seems to have affirmed its duty to offer us a place to be and to bring people together. Indeed, this is the promise of Center Parcs with its offer of a holiday experience for 365 days of the year, whether guests feel comfortable with the final arrangements for Monday remains to be seen.