UK department store chain John Lewis is looking to cut costs after a particularly difficult year, and its international expansion strategy one of the first to go.

From later this week the business will stop facilitating online orders abroad, according to a report in The Sunday Times, after deeming its international business “too costly”.

“As part of our Partnership Plan for the next two years, in John Lewis we have decided to focus on areas of the business that will deliver products and services for our local UK customers,” a John Lewis spokesman said, according to RetailGazette.

Last year, John Lewis’ international sales fell 16.9 per cent.

John Lewis opened exclusive sites within department store Myer in 2016, however these were closed over the last few years.

Edit: This story originally claimed John Lewis’ Myer sites would be shut down as part of this movement, but it has been corrected to state they have been closed for some time.