SOME of Britain’s largest builders merchants have temporarily shut because of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
JEWSON announced that their stores will close for 24 hours from 24 March. In a statement, Mike Newnham, MD of JEWSON, wrote, “We seek urgent clarification from the UK Government about how we can operate our business within the Government guidelines.”
He continued, “We want to play our part in helping the country overcome this crisis. We have been doing this by taking steps to protect our people from the risk of the virus. We also do this by helping our customers provide essential maintenance of homes and public buildings, helping self-employed customers stay in business and by providing essential livelihoods for all our colleagues.”
Travis Perkins also announced the temporary closure of their branches and confirmed they will not be taking online orders – no timeframe on when they can be expected to return was given.
A statement by the firm read, “We will be seeking to work with the Government over the coming days as to how we can fulfil the essential services that we provide to our country’s social infrastructure.”
Toolstation announced that their branches, website and phone lines will temporarily close. In a statement the company said, “Over the next few days we will work with the Government to understand how we can adapt our business so we can supply professional tradespeople with the products and services they need to maintain the sites that our country desperately needs to operate during this crisis.”
