Nordstrom, Gap set for gradual openings
Stores prepare new cleaning protocols
Nordstrom and Gap are among a growing group of national retailers that will gradually reopen their stores in the coming weeks as states emerge from coronavirus lockdowns, even as the U.S. death toll continues to rise.
Dozens of U.S. shopping malls — in Alaska, Indiana, Texas and others states — reopened this weekend, though many of the stores inside remained shut. But that is beginning to change: Macy’s resumed operations Monday at 68 stores. Best Buy, Coach and Kate Spade stores have announced plans to come back online as more states and localities lift lockdown restrictions.
Dillard’s opened 55 stores Tuesday, including at Park Plaza in Little Rock, McCain Mall in North Little Rock and Pinnacle Hills Plaza in Rogers.
Nordstrom said this week that it will permanently close 16 stores and will gradually reopen the rest. It will limit the number of customers and employees at its 100 namesake department stores and 247 Nordstrom Rack outlets, and will provide facial coverings for workers, vendors and shoppers. Its stores have been closed since March 17.
“We’ve been investing in our digital and physical capabilities to keep pace with rapidly changing customer expectations,” chief executive Erik Nordstrom said in a Tuesday news release. “The impact of covid-19 is only accelerating the importance of these capabilities in serving customers. More than ever, we need to work with flexibility and speed.”
The company did not
identify which stores would close permanently as part of a broader restructuring that is expected to save the company $150 million a year.
Gap, meanwhile, says it will reopen as many as 800 North American stores — which include Old Navy, Banana Republic, Janie and Jack, Athleta and Intermix — this month, starting with a “small selection” of locations in Texas this weekend.
“Our goal is to be responsibly aggressive,” Sonia Syngal, chief executive of Gap, said in an interview Tuesday. “Every retailer will have its own opening strategy, but suffice it to say we are looking to open where we’re legally allowed to open as soon as we can.”
But the company said stores will look and feel a bit different: Restrooms and fitting rooms will be closed, and returned items will be quarantined for 24 hours before being placed back on shelves. Employees will be wearing masks, and hand-sanitizer dispensers will be added near front doors and cash registers.
Shopping hours will be reduced, and the flow of customers will be “actively” monitored in stores. It also plans to expand curbside pickup, which currently is available at 75 stores.
“Our top priority remains the health and safety of our employees, customers and communities,” Gap said in a statement Wednesday. “As customers’ lives have shifted, so have the ways we’re meeting their needs.”
Retailers that sell nonessential goods, especially clothing, have been eager to reopen as their sales have plummeted, promising new safety protocols for the pandemic era, including plexiglass partitions, hand-sanitizer stations and masks for their employees.
Foot traffic to stores had been down even before the virus outbreak, and it remains to be seen how quickly shoppers will return to the newly refashioned environments while the country continues to grapple with a highly contagious virus.
Syngal emphasized that most of Gap’s revenue did not come from indoor malls, pointing to Old Navy locations at strip malls, its outlet business and online business. Old Navy, in particular, was “very, very relevant for what people are wanting right now,” she added, with apparel for families and activewear available at off-mall stores.
Gap said it would start reopening stores this weekend in Texas, though it declined to provide the number of locations that would welcome customers. The company said it anticipated 800 reopenings this month, based on changing decisions by state and local authorities and a patchwork of restrictions across the country. The figure represents nearly one-third of Gap’s locations in North America.
While the company has built a robust online operation, its stores remain crucial. It has nearly 2,800 locations in North America, mostly in the United States. The company recently said that it had suspended rent payments for its North American retail stores in April, which comes out to about $115 million per month, and it has been negotiating lease terms. It also said the pandemic “continues to negatively impact our operations and liquidity.”
In the meantime, Gap’s brands have introduced curbside pickup and shipping products from stores. The company, which furloughed nearly 80,000 store employees in North America as part of the closures, declined to say how many workers have been brought back or how many will return.
Syngal, who was appointed chief executive of Gap in March, said that Texas has made it especially easy for national retailers to reopen.
“Texas has aligned statelevel and county-level requirements, and that’s made it easier for retailers to have a more consistent opening plan,” she said. “It’s a state-bystate and county-by-county decision, and large retailers like us have been advocating for more consistency at that level.”
She added: “It really does come down to what governors decide — our whole stance is that we will be ready to reopen as it is safe to do so as dictated by local authorities.”