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Primark, Next and Marks & Spencer to reopen their stores in England from June, 15

By Angela Gonzalez-Rodriguez

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New York – Slowly but steadily, many retailers in the UK are reopening their doors. Primark, Next and Marks & Spencer have announced they will be waiting for customers in their physical stores starting the second fortnight of June.

As more and more retailers get ready to recover certain level of normalcy, consumers try to come to terms with the new reality. A recent study by EY reveals that 45 percent of UK consumers believe the way they shop over the next one to two years will change: 64 percent will go shopping less frequently, but will spend more when they do and over half will be more aware of hygiene and sanitation when shopping in person.

Speaking to these consumer behaviours, Silvia Rindone, consumer product and retail partner at EY, said that “UK consumer companies will need to be aware of consumers’ heightened concerns and make every effort to mitigate anxiety if they are to prosper in this new market. Adaptability has always been crucial for any consumer-facing business, but it will be more important than ever for companies if they are to emerge stronger from this pandemic and serve understandably anxious consumers.”

Retailers have taken good note and shared some of the measures they’re adapting to keep both their employees and their customers safe:

Primark - The champion of affordable fashion will open all its stores in England from June, 15, hoping to do the same across the UK by the end of the month. The fashion arm of ABF has already welcomed back customers to 112 stores across Europe. Some of the precautions taken include every other till being closed, perspex screens at checkouts and restrictions on customer numbers.

Next – Sixty stores are expected to reopen as of June, 15. A spokesperson for Next quoted by the ‘Express’, said: "On Thursday 26 March, we temporarily closed our UK warehouses and distribution networks in order to adapt our operations to working safely in a coronavirus world. During the 18 days of closure we re-organised all aspects of our warehousing to ensure social distancing and improved sanitation. We re-organised the flow of pedestrians, adapted exits, entrances, congregation areas, rest areas and workstations. In addition, we changed our picking routines and delivery promise to smooth workflow during the day and eliminated the peaks in activity most likely to result in close contact between operations.”

Marks & Spencer – While its food stores have remained open during the lockdown, the quintessentially British retailer announced it will resume their fashion activity starting on June, 10. The chain’s 26 clothing-only stores will limit the number of customers allowed at a time, will make hand sanitiser available upon entry, and will set floor markings to remind customers about social distancing.

Marks & Spencer
Next
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