Primark to reopen all 153 stores in England
Associated British Foods has said it is working to reopen all 153 Primark stores in the England on 15 June.
Accounting for around 40% of the retailer’s selling space, the shops will have a range of Covid-19 safety measures in place including social distancing protocols, hand sanitiser stations, perspex screens at tills and increased cleaning of high frequency touch points in-store.
In addition, PPE items such as masks and gloves will be made available to all employees.
All Primark stores were shuttered over a 12-day period from 11 March, which resulted in a sales loss for the retailer of around £650 million for every month that all stores were closed.
Primark is currently trading from 111 stores in Europe and one in the US. The shops represent around 34% of its total selling space.
Primark said trading in its reopened stores has been “reassuring and encouraging” with customers spending on larger basket sizes. However, like-for-like sales have been down year-on-year with intial sales at four stores coming in at below 50% of last year.
The company said some spring/summer excess stock will be put in storage before being sold in 2021.
By 15 June, Primark will also have three new stores opened which it originally planned to launch in its third quarter. Stores in Mons in Belgium and Gropius in Berlin have already opened and a store in the Trafford Centre in Manchester will launch on 15 June.
