A major UK retailer will close its doors across its shops in the North East this Boxing Day, as the business has committed to giving staff time off with their families.

Jeweller Beaverbrooks said it has been a tradition for more than 100 years to close its store on Boxing Day, lending itself to 'family-run' company values. 

Beaverbrooks closing its North East stores on Boxing Day:

In the North East, its stores in Metrocentre, Newcastle Eldon Square, Sunderland Bridges Shopping Centre, and Middlesbrough, Linthorpe Road will all close.

As part of its commitment to its employees, Beaverbrooks has also called on other retailers to follow suit and give its employees a day off on Boxing Day.

The company has confirmed that it will continue its tradition of gifting all employees an additional week’s salary in December.

Anna Blackburn, managing director at Beaverbrooks, said: “There is no escaping the fact that 2024 has been a challenging year for many retailers, with rising costs and fluctuating sales impacting the sector.

"This Christmas period is set to be hugely important – not to mention busy – so it is more important to us now than ever before to continue our Boxing Day tradition across our 89 stores.

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“As a business run on strong family values, we want to give our amazing colleagues more much-deserved time to spend with their friends and family after a busy festive period – something that has been, and always will be, incredibly important to us.

"Putting people at the heart of every decision we make is key to creating a more engaged and stronger workforce, which ensures our people deliver exceptional levels of customer service.

"Hopefully, we can inspire other businesses to follow in our footsteps to thank the hard-working people employed in retail this Christmas.”