Primark to reopen 153 stores in England by June 15 after coronavirus lockdown

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PRIMARK will reopen 153 stores in England by June 15 after the coronavirus lockdown.

The clothing store shut all of its 189 UK stores on March 22 after the Government ordered all non-essential shops to close.

Primark hopes to reopen all 153 of its stores by June 15

But now they have been given the go-ahead to reopen in mid-June, as long as they’re COVID-19 “secure”.

Primark, which was shut for 12 weeks, said the lockdown has caused a loss of around £650million worth of sales a month.

The troubled fashion retailer said that it has cut overheads by more than 50 per cent to stabilise its finances during the pandemic.

It has already reopened 112 stores across Europe as countries begin to ease their own lockdown rules.

In a statement, Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) said: “As European governments have begun to ease restrictions on clothing retailing we have been able to reopen stores.

“Safety has been our highest priority in our detailed preparations to welcome our customers and employees back to stores.

“We are following government safety advice in all markets.

“Importantly, we will apply the valuable experience gained from more than 100 stores which are already open as we open the remainder of our estate, including stores across the UK.”

Shopping at Primark won’t be the same as before though and shoppers and staff will have to abide by social distancing rules.

Hand sanitiser stations have been installed in stores and perspex screens put up at the tills to help stop the spread of the virus.

The retailer has said that stores will undergo additional cleaning, especially of “high frequency touch points” such as door handles.

Primark said that sales in the reopened Europe stores was “reassuring and encouraging” with queues outside most of the branches.

But it added that like-for-like sales have been lower than the same period last year and it doesn’t expect it to recover to pre-pandemic levels while social distancing measures are in place.

The retailer said it is awaiting further guidance regarding stores in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales but anticipates openings in “late June”.

New Look, another fast-fashion chain, will reopen about a quarter of its 500 UK stores on June 15.

More to follow…

 

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