Primark outlines 15 June reopening

Primark has detailed its plans to reopen its UK estate, following the recent government announcement that non-essential retail may resume on 15 June. 

It comes as the clothing retailer started reopening its stores across Europe, after European governments began to ease restrictions for retailers following a global lockdown. 

Whilst the retailer said that it continues to follow government safety advice in all markets, it will “apply the valuable experience gained from more than 100 stores which are already open as we open the remainder of our estate”, including its UK stores. 

New measures that will be implemented in its UK sites include social distancing protocols, hand sanitiser stations, perspex screens at tills and the additional cleaning of high frequency touch points. 

Employees will also have access to PPE, including face masks and gloves. The retailer said that these measures are “designed to safeguard the health and wellbeing of everyone in-store and to instil confidence in the store environment”. 

Primark is currently trading in 112 stores, representing 34% of its total selling space, but after the reopening of UK sites on 15 June, it will operate from 281 stores, representing 79% of its total selling space.  

All Primark stores were initially closed over a 12-day period from 11 March in light of the escalating lockdown. The closures resulted in a £650m sales loss for every month that the sites remained closed.  

In light of this, Primark took multiple actions to shore up cash, including the cancellation of future orders for goods where the handover date was after 17 April.

The retailer said that the “most significant” measure to reduce overheads was the use of government employment retention schemes throughout Europe, as well as a temporary voluntary reduction in salaries for all Primark employees not covered by these schemes. 

As a result, the retailer “exceeded” its previously advised estimate of a 50% reduction in overheads throughout April and May.

In regards to its reopened European sites, Primark said: “Trading in our re-opened stores has been both reassuring and encouraging, with customer queues outside most stores and, once in store, spending on larger basket sizes. 

“However, the trading results since reopening were delivered over a very short period, will have been influenced by a number of specific factors, and may not be indicative of a long term pattern.”