Safety first as Ashley preps empire to reopen
Tycoon has worked with health advisers to ensure Sport Direct and Frasers are good to go next month
Laura Onita
MIKE ASHLEY, the Sports Direct tycoon, is poised to open most of the chain’s stores next month after drafting in health advisers to help make his shops, offices and depots safe. The sportswear billionaire is working with consultants at safety firm Risk Source to reopen about 500 outlets on June 15, including branches of Sports Direct, Flannels, Jack Wills and Game.
House of Fraser, his department store chain, is expected to open later the same week as it awaits further guidance from Whitehall about larger stores that have cafes and restaurants on site.
Mr Ashley is thought to be desperate to avoid controversy following a backlash at the start of the lockdown, when he initially vowed to defy official advice and keep stores open throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
A spokesman said the business had been working behind the scenes to ensure its stores follow government rules when restrictions were lifted.
High street shops, department stores and shopping centres are all set to reopen within weeks in the biggest easing of the lockdown since the coronavirus hit Britain.
Outdoor markets and car showrooms will be first to open, no earlier than Monday, followed two weeks later by all other non-essential retail, including shops selling furniture, clothes, books and electronics, together with tailors, auction houses and indoor markets.
Mr Ashley’s company, which was renamed Frasers this year, has published a risk assessment setting out how it will handle a return to business.
Frasers now has temperature-check scanners at its depots, where it has staggered breaks and shifts.
It has fitted plastic screens between work stations where staff pack orders and is also cleaning equipment more frequently.
It has created a “retail restart” pack for employees in shops to bring them up to speed with the changes. There will be queuing systems outside stores and the fitting rooms will remain shut for now, with cash banned.
Frasers said it would keep the plans under review.
The company said: “While the consumer reaction to the high street reopening is very much unknown – and the shopping experience may be somewhat different to start with – the one thing we can properly manage is the safety and well-being of everyone involved, and this is our absolute priority.”