Retailers announce April 12 reopening plans for bricks and mortar outlets

A host of retailers have confirmed reopening plans for April 12 as shoppers look forward to a return to bricks and mortar shopping after more than three months.

John Lewis outlined its plans for April 12 for its remaining 32 shops in England, which include customers finally being allowed to have their children’s feet measured for shoes and the reopening of technology support desks.

Its Glasgow store will open on April 26 and its Edinburgh site on May 14.

Fitting rooms will be open, “customer service hosts” will manage customer numbers and queues and a returns process will involve new drop boxes and the quarantining of returned stock for 48 hours.

Next day click and collect services will also resume in John Lewis shops, in addition to pick-up locations in Waitrose, Co-op and Booths, taking the total number of collect locations to more than 900.

It follows a challenging year involving the closure of 16 stores as it undergoes a major shift in strategy to adapt to changing shopping habits.

John Lewis executive director Pippa Wicks said: “We are delighted to be welcoming our much-missed customers into our shops once more.

“We’re looking forward to reuniting customers with the joy of physical shopping, along with the excitement of our stores, whilst also introducing our customers to stylish new products at prices they won’t expect.

“We’re also excited to be opening up much-needed services and helping customers choose those items that are harder to buy online – from the perfect mattress, to road testing the right pram or finding the right pair of jeans.

“We want to make sure the shopping experience is as fun and inspiring as it’s ever been, while also ensuring that our customers and partners feel safe.”

Primark is planning to offer extended opening hours across almost every store in England and Wales to help reduce queues, spread demand and give customers more time to shop safely.

For the first week initially, stores will open for two extra hours per day on average, typically an hour earlier and later, with times varying by store.

Primark chief executive Paul Marchant said: “Safety remains at the front of our minds.

“We have extended opening hours across almost all of our stores to help meet demand safely but we’re also asking our customers to keep up the support and spirit they showed last year, particularly if queuing outside or in-store.”

Ikea said it was preparing to reopen stores across England and Wales from April 12 following the reopening of its stores in Scotland on April 5.

Safety measures will include a staggered entry system to enable social distancing, hand sanitiser facilities throughout stores and more frequent cleaning routines.

Ikea restaurants will remain closed until May 17, although bistros, which operate a contact-free takeaway service, will remain open along with Swedish food markets.

Poundland is reopening more of its hibernating shops and plans to open more new stores over the next six months to help support the UK’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

As an essential retailer, the majority of Poundland stores have remained open throughout lockdown, but 55 “hibernating” shops will reopen on April 12.

The Willenhall-based discount retailer said it will have opened 25 to 30 Poundland and Dealz stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland over the 12 months to the end of September.

Poundland brought 29 stores out of hibernation in February and will now reopen 43, including at the Merry Hill shopping centre in Brierley Hill and Sutton Coldfield on April 12 in England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

A dozen Pep&Co standalone fashion stores in England and Wales will also reopen next Monday.

Six further stores in Scotland are set to follow later in the month as restrictions are lifted there.

Poundland also confirmed it is moving ahead with the £25 million transformation programme launched last July, including new store openings and relocations, store revamps and investment in its chilled and frozen food distribution network following the 2020 acquisition of Fultons Foods.

Poundland has created more than 400 jobs in the current financial year and expects to create at least 250 more by the end of September.

Barry Williams, Poundland managing director, said: “It is fantastic news that our high street neighbours are preparing to get back to business – not just other retailers but the cafes, gyms and hairdressers who make our town centres the vibrant places people love. We’ve missed you and are pleased you’re coming back.

“We know too that many will be making their first tentative steps back into their town centres after being away for some time – we can’t wait to welcome them and say hello. Come see how we’ve changed.

“We’re cracking on with our transformation programme and our investment in new stores, refurbishments, new ranges and distribution. With the challenges faced by high streets, that’s good news for our customers, our colleagues and our communities.”

All the work on store openings and refurbishments will be done in line with Government health and safety guidelines and all Poundland stores will continue to operate with robust health and safety regimes to protect customers and staff.