‘Covid-ready’ Primark is back... but there are major changes in store
IT IS Primark...but not as you know it.
The popular department chain will reopen four of its Northern Ireland stores today — almost a week after the Stormont Executive gave the green light to the resumption of ‘non-essential’ retail on our high streets.
Outlets in Belfast — on Castle Street and Fountain House in the city centre — Londonderry and Omagh, all of whom have street access, will raise their shutters this morning, with shopping centre-based units in Ballymena, Lisburn, Newry, Newtownabbey and Newtownards following suit on Monday.
But customers will have a completely different shopping experience to the one they left behind when the lockdown began in March, with staff taking extra time to make their outlets ‘Covid-ready’.
That means floor markers and other guidance signage, perspex screens at checkouts and aisles designed to help maintain a two-metre distance between shoppers and staff.
Every store will have a separate entrance and exit, with staff keeping count of how many customers come in and out, and of course there will be the now familiar blue bubbles on the floor outside, reminding everyone to stay two metres apart.
In a further safety feature, basket handles will be cleaned after every use and customers will be asked to use contactless hand sanitising units.
And they can only approach a till — every other one will be open — when invited to.
Other measures include extra security staff and revised hours as Primark gets back to businesses following the near-three month lockdown.
One thing unlikely to change, however, is the popularity of the budget fashion chain.
Staff are bracing themselves for what is likely to be the biggest queues since restrictions were eased last week.
And if the experience of their counterparts in the rest of the UK this week is anything to go by, it will be an extremely busy next few days.
At Primark’s flagship store in Birmingham, customers queued overnight last Sunday to be first in line when the shutters went up on Monday morning, forcing the retailer to open earlier than planned to cope with the demand.
It was a similar story of socalled ‘Primania’ in Liverpool, with enormous queues dispelling any myths that customers would forsake the high street behemoth because of its lack of online retail alternative.
Two months ago Associated British Foods (ABF), which owns the budget retailer, revealed that global sales had dropped from £650m per month as a result of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
They also admitted that £1.5bn worth of stock is currently sitting idle in warehouses and factories around the world.
But shoppers hoping for a special reopening sale or special offers will be disappointed; most of Primark’s new stock is set to be ‘hibernated’ in warehouses until the summer of next year.
Chief executive Paul Marchant said a lot of work has been done to prepare branches to allow people to shop safely.
“While it might take a little longer to get into store, once inside customers will find all their favourite Primark products and plenty of choice as usual,” he said. “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 are also asking customers to respect the measures we have put in place to help ensure shopping at Primark is an enjoyable, safe experience for everyone.”
This is the second time in 18 months that Primark has had to reopen stores in Belfast after a long absence.
They began trading from their two current Belfast properties in the aftermath of the huge fire that threatened to destroy their flagship Bank Buildings premises.
The damage caused by the inferno was so extensive that it forced the temporary closure of 14 surrounding shops and its legacy is still being felt today.