J Sainsbury plans to close the three remaining standalone Habitat showrooms – in Leeds, Westfield (London), and Brighton – as part of wider consolidation measures across the retail group.
In a statement, a Habitat spokesperson says: “In 2020 we reviewed our Habitat stores and took the decision to close some and retain three as showrooms. Since then, customers have increasingly been shopping for Habitat products online and within Sainsbury’s stores, meaning the showrooms have been less popular. As a result, we are talking to a very small number of colleagues about the difficult decision to close all three showrooms in July.
“We have not made this decision lightly and we appreciate it will be unsettling for those affected. We will be supporting our colleagues in every way we can, including exploring opportunities for them to redeploy within Sainsbury’s and Argos.”
J Sainsbury acquired Argos and Habitat in 2016. Habitat’s flagship Tottenham Court Road and Finchley Road stores were closed in 2021, while the stores in Westfield, Brighton and Leeds were relaunched as showrooms – where customers were able to place orders and build their own shopping baskets online – the following spring. In November, Sainsbury's reported "strong" sales growth across the brand.
The showrooms are expected to close from 1st July.
