Britain’s high streets are preparing for a manic Monday as some of Britain’s biggest chains have revealed their plans to throw open their doors once again and kick-start town and city centres across the country in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown.
Major high street retailers such as Primark, John Lewis, and JD Sports are all set to reopen on Monday after the government finally gave the green light for shops to reopen as the country eases back to life before the draconian lockdown measures were introduced.
But shoppers will no doubt recognise changes when the shops reopen on Monday.
Primark, which is reopening 153 of its stores from 15 June, has today released pictures showing what shoppers will face at its store in the Westfield Shopping Centre in London.
Marks and Spencer will also be opening all 25 of its clothing outlet stores in England from Monday, while 260 clothing spaces within M&S stores that also sell food will also reopen.
But the famous high street chain has warned customers face the prospect of queuing outside at busy times, while Perspex screens will be set up at the checkouts to protect both staff and customer.
Like many clothing stores, customers will not be allowed to use fitting rooms, while some services, such as bra fittings, will not restart yet.
Sports fashion retailer JD Sports will reopen all 309 of its stores in England with new health and safety measures.
Major high street retailers like Primark, M&S and JD Sports are all set to reopen on Monday after the government finally gave the green for shops to reopen as the country eases back to life before
Primark’s shop in the Westfield shopping centre in London is reopening next week with protective glass at the tills
John Lewis is reopening two of its stores on Monday, including one in Poole, Dorset, and one in Kingston, Surrey (pictured.
Marks and Spencer will also be opening all 25 of its clothing outlet stores in England from Monday, while 260 clothing spaces within M&S stores that also sell food will also reopen
Marks and Spencer has installed Perspex screens at the counters of its stores as a protective measure. Customers will also be reminded about social distancing with signs like these around its stores
Sports fashion retailer JD Sports will reopen all 309 of its stores in England with new health and safety measures
Measures include a maximum limit on the number of customers allowed in the store at one time, protective screens at tills and hand-sanitiser at the entrance to the store and near to escalators. Pictured: Customers outside a JD Sports store
These include a maximum limit on the number of customers allowed in the store at one time, protective screens at tills and hand-sanitiser at the entrance to the store and near to escalators.
Other major retails to already announce plans to reopen include Currys PC World, which will reopen 131 of its stores from Monday.
The tech retailer says it will initially provide support to customers with current technological issues – creating what they describe as ‘Tech Help Hubs’.
Music retailer HMW will reopen all but 15 of its stores across the UK from Monday, when stores in England and Northern Ireland will reopen.
Its remaining stores, all in Scotland and Wales, will not reopen until it receives further guidance from the government.
Department stores will also look to reopen, including Fenwick, which will reopen all of its stores from Monday, while John Lewis will start with just two, in Kingston, Surrey, and Poole, Dorset.
Department stores will also look to reopen, including Fenwick, which will reopen all of its stores from Monday, while John Lewis (pictured) will start with just two, in Kingston, Surrey, and Poole, Dorset
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, and Chair of John Lewis, Sharon White, during his visit to a John Lewis department store in London this week
A further 11 stores in Cambridge, Norwich, Bluewater, Cheadle, Cheltenham, High Wycombe, Horsham, Nottingham, Solihull, Welwyn and Ipswich will reopen three days later.
Sports Direct said about 500 of its stores would start trading from Monday, while high-end department store Selfridges will also reopen.
House of Fraser is one of the major chains not to be reopening its stores on Monday, but will do so ‘towards the end of the week’.
It comes as today shopping centres in Northern Ireland reopened after being given the green light from the Northern Ireland Executive.
One way systems have been put in place to help shoppers maintain social distancing while walking around the centres and in stores.
In England, the government confirmed last night that all non-essential retailers will be allowed to reopen on Monday.
But shops will only legally be allowed to reopen if they are ‘Covid-secure’.
The government has warned it will fine shops owners up to £1,000 if they have not carried out adequate risk assessments.
This graphic shows some of the changes that may be made to ensure reopening stores can minimise the spread of the virus
Experts have warned that two meters may not be enough to keep shoppers safe in stores
But the British Retail Consortium, the trade organisation which represents the retail industry, expects a ‘substantial proportion’ of big shops to reopen on Monday, The Times reports.
Also today, the boss of Primark poured cold water on rumours of the ‘sale of the century’ for shoppers when stores reopen, by confirming there will be no sales or promotions on offer for Primark shoppers when its stores reopen next week.
The popular chain has been hit hard during lockdown, as it does not operate an online shopping website and has been forced to shut all its high-street stores.
The number of shoppers being allowed into a Primark store at any one time will be limited, and the company says it has hired ‘additional security staff’ to stem the flow of shoppers entering.
Toilets, fitting rooms and cafes and beauty concession areas, where they are installed, will remain closed, with Primark saying it will keep the situation under review as restrictions are lifted further by the Government.
Shoppers will have to stay two metres apart and will be confronted with markers on the floor and further guidance on social distancing on shop walls.
Primark added: ‘Frequent tannoy announcements are made in store reminding customers to adhere to social distancing measures.’
Outside stores, designated queuing lanes have been established to make sure the flow of shoppers is limited.
Paul Marchant, Primark’s chief executive, said: ‘We have really missed our customers and we are delighted to be back on 15 June and able to provide them with the quality, affordable products they love from Primark.
‘While it might take a little longer to get into store, once inside, customers will find all their favourite Primark products and plenty of choice as usual.
‘We have worked hard to make sure that clear signage and extra help will be there to guide them through the changes we have made to allow for social distancing.
‘We are also asking customers to respect the measures we have put in place to help ensure shopping at Primark is an enjoyable, safe experience for everyone.’
Owner Associated British Foods shut all its Primark stores in March in the face of coronavirus, which it said resulted in a loss of around £650million for every month that all stores were closed.
It said that it cut more than 50 per cent off overheads at Primark in a bid to stabilise its finances during the pandemic.
Primark, which furloughed 68,000 staff across Europe during the pandemic, has already opened most of its shops across the continent.
Earlier this month, Primark said its buying team had done a review of its spring-summer stock and had earmarked ‘certain products’ to be held in storage to be sold next summer, ‘without the need for special discounting beyond our normal practices’.
It said: ‘We will continue our policy of offering the best everyday low prices and will seek to avoid any markdown on excess stock.’
The company, which has faced criticism over order cancellations with suppliers in Asia, last month said its inventory had reached £1.5billion and that it expected to take a £284million hit from stock languishing in its warehouses.
With swathes of the high-street reopening next week, it remains to be seen the extent to which shoppers will be willing to put up with social distancing measures in stores, with many already tired of queuing for supermarkets, pharmacies and popular DIY chains.
Echoing these concerns, Primark said that ‘as long as social distancing is required, we expect it to restrict the capacity of our busiest stores from achieving their aggregate pre-Covid-19 sales’.