Penneys say all of its stores across the country will begin to reopen from June 12th.
Those with street access will welcome back customers from that date, while June 15th will be the re-opening for stores in shopping centres.
The company say there will be limits on the number of people allowed in shops at any one time and fitting rooms will be closed off.
Penneys confirmed this morning that it is closely following all government safety advice and applying experience gained from our store openings across Europe, putting rigorous health and safety measures in place in all stores, which include:
A strict social distancing protocol:
· Limits on the number of customers in store at any one time to allow for the appropriate distance in between customers and employees, following government guidelines.
· Clear signage and floor decals, as well as dedicated employees and additional security staff, to guide customers through the store in a way that limits contact with others.
· Every second till will be closed to allow more space between customers and between employees.
· We have temporarily closed off fitting rooms, customer toilets and our cafe and beauty concessions in stores which have them. We may review this policy as the situation develops and in line with government guidance.
Personal protection for employees and customers:
- Hand sanitiser stations will be made available at the entrance and on the shop floor and back of house for employee and customer use. Face masks and gloves will be made available to all Penneys employees.
- Perspex screens have been installed on tills to protect customers and employees.
Increased in-store cleaning:
- The frequency and rigour of store cleaning will increase, particularly around high frequency touchpoints such as tills, escalators, lifts, and employee areas in back of house.
Primark CEO, Paul Marchant, said: “As we re-open our stores in Ireland, nothing matters more than the health and wellbeing of our colleagues and customers.
“We have really missed our customers and we are delighted to be back trading again on our home soil. From 12 June we will be able to provide our customers with the quality, affordable products they love from Penneys.
“We know that life for our customers is going to look different for a while. We want our stores to be safe and reassuring places to shop and work. While it might take a little longer to get into our stores, once inside, customers will find all their favourite Penneys products and 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 will adopt all government safety advice as a minimum in our stores and have benefited from our experience in the other markets in Europe where we have already opened successfully. As we open, we will continue to look at best practice across the retail sector and amend our measures appropriately.
“I would like to thank all of our colleagues and partners for the commitment, strength and resilience they have shown through these challenging times.”
