Apple ready to reopen 12 Canadian stores this week

Company puts emphasis on limiting occupancy

Apple Inc. said it’s reopening more than 25 stores across the U.S. and 12 stores in Canada this week, adding to nearly100 global locations that have reopened to customers after the novel coronavirus outbreak forced them to close. Some stores will offer only curbside or storefront service, the company added in an emailed statement.

In a letter to customers by Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice-president for retail and people, the company said it’s “focused on limiting occupancy and giving everybody lots of room,” with a renewed emphasis on one-to-one service throughout each store. There’ll be temperature checks conducted at the door and face coverings will be required for all employees and provided to any shoppers without one.

“A store opening in no way means that we won’t take the preventative step of closing it again should local conditions warrant,” O’Brien wrote.

The U.S. Apple stores set to reopen are in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Oklahoma and Washington state.

The Cupertino, Calif.,-based tech giant is in the process of reopening most of its retail sales network across Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Australia. It plans to reopen 10 of its 17 stores in Italy this week, it said on Friday. Apple closed all of its stores in mainland China early on in the novel coronavirus outbreak, which it was able to reopen a few weeks later as the pandemic was reined in across the country. It then closed all of its stores outside greater China until it started a gradual reopening with its Seoul, South Korea location.