‘Mother of all sales’ coming as shops try to shed £15bn of stock
RETAILERS will launch the “mother of all sales” when high streets finally reopen, say market experts.
Stores such as Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Debenhams are expected to drastically reduce prices by up to 70 per cent when they reopen in June following the easing of coronavirus restrictions.
And the sale bonanza could last for a year as analysts predicted stores had £15billion worth of stock in warehouses and shops.
Clive Black, of market analysts Shore Capital, said: “There will be the mother of all sales for the next few months. It will be a real boom for bargain hunters.”
Thousands of non-essential shops, including department stores and shopping centres, will be allowed to reopen from June 15.
Marks & Spencer is launching its half-price Rainbow Sale when its stores open up. But the shopping experience will be very different to what consumers are used to.
Changing rooms, seating areas and toilet facilities are likely to be off-limits to shoppers, while clothing items would need to be tried on at home and “quarantined” before being put back on the rack in store.
Hand sanitising stations will also be available outside stores.
Businesses will only be able to open once they have completed a risk assessment and are deemed “Covid secure”, with regular checks in place.
And shoe shops will take footwear that has been tried on off the shelves for 24 hours before it is put back on display.
Halfords is set to reopen 53 stores as bosses said they have seen a surge in bike sales since the Government relaxed lockdown rules.
The chain had been allowed to remain open throughout the pandemic, classed as an essential business. But the firm chose to close sites and operate an employee-only model where customers could make purchases from outside or online.
Some 335 of Halfords’ 446 retail stores have been run this way since the lockdown began.
Halfords said: “The pace will be dictated by the company’s confidence that it can keep its colleagues and customers safe.”