Back in business shop doors are open again
FOR those who love shopping, it was a very exciting morning on Monday. As many Cheltenham shops reopened for the first time in nearly three months, hundreds of people made sure they were in the town centre as the doors opened at 9am.
Big queues formed outside Primark and WH Smith in High Street.
But elsewhere things got off to a quiet start. The Regent Arcade, for example, had relatively few people inside it early on – perhaps because some customers had heard that only 60 per cent of its shops would be open.
Upper and Lower High Street began to get busier as the morning progressed but it was Primark, which does not trade online, that drew a real crowd.
There was a long queue outside the shop well before it opened at 9am. It stretched all the way up North Street, beyond the Jobcentre.
People waited patiently alongside water-filled barriers, which have been installed by the county council to widen the area that can be used by pedestrians.
The queue still stretched away from the store an hour after opening. Some onlookers watched open-mouthed and said they were amazed at the demand to get into the shop and how people were prepared to wait.
Shopper Jamie-leigh Claridge, from Cheltenham, found herself at the back of the long queue.
She said: “I didn’t think the queue was going to be as bad because we’re in a pandemic.
“I’m here to get some clothes for the family and to look around.”
Anyone going into the Regent Arcade found it much quieter, although there were queues at its southern end where TK Maxx had a sale.
People had to wait in line to use the escalator to get to the shop, which is on the first floor of the shopping centre. Customers had to be five steps apart as they used the escalators.
The centre had various markings on the floor. Some showed a one-way system that saw shoppers having to keep to the left, while other stickers indicated where people should queue to get into the stores.
Cavendish House reopened on Tuesday.
There was a very small queue outside the main entrance as the doors were opened at 9.30am.
But as Cavendish House’s manager Clem Fraser pointed out, House of Fraser has been trading online during lockdown.
She and her staff had face masks and gloves to wear to protect themselves and customers.
In the first part of the morning, customers were few and far between in the shop, which first opened 197 years ago.
But those we spoke to were happy that it was open again.
Tim Wickens, from Stroud, said: “It’s good, very positive. It’s nice to see things getting back to normal.
“It’s a bit quiet but you’ve got to start somewhere.”
Ghafique Adam, of Bath Road, Cheltenham, said: “I’m just looking.
I’m hoping to get something nice in the sale.
“I appreciate them being open despite Covid-19.”
The summer sale is offering up to 50 per cent off selected items.
Customers were encouraged to use hand sanitisers in the shop and signs advertised the need for social distancing and for shoppers to follow the oneway system.
Clem Fraser was upbeat about the shop being open again and its immediate future.
She said: “The customers I’ve spoken to have been very happy that we’re back open. Every piece of feedback about our set-up has been OK.”
John Lewis in High Street is set to open today.