SHOP FOR BRITAIN!
PM’s rallying cry as stores reopen today
Boris Johnson urged the country to return to the high street and ‘shop with confidence’ when non-essential stores reopen today with huge price cuts.
The Prime Minister said he was ‘very optimistic’ that the lifting of restrictions would help the economy bounce back from three months of coronavirus lockdown.
stores including Zara, John Lewis and Debenhams have slashed prices by as much as 70 per cent in a bid to lure shoppers back. Desperate fashion chains are sitting on as much as £15billion of unsold stock they are keen to shift.
speaking during a visit to the Westfield shopping centre in east London yesterday, the PM said he hoped to see a ‘gradual’ build-up of people visiting the high street.
‘i am very optimistic about the opening up that’s going to be happening,’ he said.
‘i think people should shop and shop with confidence but they should of course observe the rules on social distancing and do it as safely as possible.’
outlets will offer hand sanitiser stations and many will enforce infection control by
‘Shops have £15billion of unsold stock to shift’
quarantining unbought items for 72 hours after they have been handled.
store martials in high-vis jackets and PPE will ensure shoppers are kept two metres apart, browsing and handling items will be discouraged and there will be a plea not to use cash. There will also be limits on the numbers allowed through the door, which means queues are likely.
struggling retailers hope big price cuts will be enough to tempt people to face the new style of shopping.
Next has already opened 64 outlets, which combine home and fashion departments, and another 64 will open today with more to follow this week.
A video issued by the retail giant revealed all staff will be wearing head visors and in some cases face masks.
in line with Government guidelines, fitting rooms will be closed and all returned items will be quarantined for 72 hours.
This policy is also being adopted HMV and Waterstones, which is asking browsers to leave any items they handle in a trolley so they can be taken away.
shoes retailer Kurt Geiger’s safeguards include protective gloves and face masks for staff.
Hand sanitiser will be compulsory for anyone trying on shoes and customers will be asked to wear disposable pop-socks if they do not have their own.
All shoes that have been tried on will go into quarantine for at least 24 hours afterwards. John Lewis is offering a sale of up to 70 per cent off, allowing Kate Middleton fans to get their hands on some of her favourite Barbour pieces for a fraction of the price.
several Barbour coats and jackets, which usually retail for more than £100, have been slashed to half price or less.
Despite the Government’s desire to breathe new life into our favourite shops, many will never reopen. retail analyst richard Hyman said: ‘We already know the number of shoppers will be way down because of distancing and managing traffic in store at any one time. But also, a proportion of the population remain anxious and will avoid going shopping unless and until they must.
‘it’s going to be awful for quite some time. We will certainly see many more casualties and, inevitably, significant losses too. With 8.9million shop workers on furlough the big question is how many will have a job to return to.’
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: ‘some stores may not reopen at all. We’ll also likely see a flurry of retail casualties in the coming weeks and months too.’
Consumer markets leader at PwC, Lisa Hooker, said: ‘if queues for recently reopened retailers have shown us anything, it’s possible that pent up consumer demand may in fact lead to good news for retailers trying to preserve margins. However, if June trading does not make a big enough dent in stocks, we predict a rush of promotions and sales later in the summer.’
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