From Primark to Next, which fashion stores will open first after lockdown?

It’s official. Non-essential retailers, including high street shops, department stores and shopping centres, may begin reopening on 1st June, followed by a broader range of stores on 15th June, it was announced on Monday night.

Next week’s reopenings will largely apply to outdoor markets and car showrooms, though some fashion retailers will be among that number. But before any retail outlet can welcome shoppers, they will need to prove that they can meet the Government’s guidelines for protecting customers against the risk of transmission of Covid-19.

Many chains will be reopening on a gradual basis, testing the efficacy of their new health and safety protocols before rolling them out to every store. Among the new measures, we can expect to be asked to wear face masks and use hand sanitiser before entering, while ‘sneeze guard’ screens will be installed at checkouts. Shopper numbers will likely be limited to maintain social distancing, and any tried-on clothing will have to be quarantined for at least 72 hours before going back on the shop floor.

These efforts will vary by store, with some going above and beyond the mandated rules to make customers feel safe and welcome. Either way, shopaholics can breathe a sigh of relief as brick-and-mortar fashion is back in business.

Here, we’ve identified the shops that will be opening first, as well as the rules we can expect to have to follow when we visit.

Harrods

Harrods' Knightsbridge store will reopen on 15th June, and it will use footfall monitoring technology to limit capacity, while specific doors will be made into entrances and exits. It has also installed hand sanitiser stations across the store as part of an enhanced cleaning programme.

Harrods will also be opening a secondary store at Westfield in London's Shepherd's Bush in order to host its sale with minimal risk of overcrowding. Named Harrods Outlet, it will be set over two floors and has been designed to support higher levels of social distancing.

John Lewis

The John Lewis stores in Poole and Kingston will be the first to reopen on 15th June, followed by another 11 sites later that week.

The employee-owned retailer has devised an individual plan for each of its 50 stores so that it can ensure social distancing. It says it will initially prioritise the 20 or so stores with large car parks so both customers and staff can reach it without having to rely on public transport.

Among the new measures are: a reduced number of entrances - each staffed with a host who will control customer numbers and answer any questions, prominent social distancing signage, protective screens at checkouts, control procedures for escalators and lifts, and a new contactless payment limit of £45. Fitting rooms will remain closed until further notice, and any stock returned by customers will be quarantined for 72 hours.

Nor will it be rushing to reopen stores. “We want to be safe, not fast,” operations chief Andrew Murphy told the Telegraph last week. “We have no interest in being at the forefront of how people are reopening.”

Kurt Geiger

The footwear chain will start gradually reopening stores from 1st June, beginning with just 10-20 of its UK shops. Each store has been reconfigured in accordance with new health and safety protocols at a cost of £75,000 per store per year.

Customers will be expected to adhere to a social distance of two metres at all times, with just one shopper per 15 square metres of space, double the government guidelines - so expect to queue outside if the store is at capacity.

Antibacterial hand gel and disposable pop socks must be used to try on any shoes, and anything tried-on but not purchased will be handled using gloves and quarantined for 24 hours before it can be returned to the stock room or shop floor.

Only card payments will be accepted, and there will be perspex screens at the till to protect both the customer and the staff member taking payment. Chip and pin machines, as well as all other frequently used surfaces will be cleaned regularly. You’ll also see staff wearing masks and gloves at all times.

Mango

Mango is better prepared than most high street chains for post-lockdown trade, having already tested its health and safety protocols at reopened stores in parts of Europe. It will be opening 37 of its UK stores on 15th June, including London's Oxford Street and Covent Garden, as well as outposts in Oxford, Bristol, Nottingham and Leeds.

Among the measures we can expect in-store are a limit on customer numbers and socially distanced queuing, as well as a thorough cleaning regimen across the store and high-temperature steaming of garments that have been returned, tried-on or handled by customers.

Me + Em

Some  of the fashion retailer’s stores will begin opening on 15th June, with all stores reopened by the end of the month.

Expect all Government guidelines to be followed to the letter, particularly with regards to social distancing. Me + Em also plans to offer personal styling sessions in-store, following the success of the virtual styling service it has been running during lockdown.

Next

Next will form part of the second wave of reopenings, a spokesperson confirmed with the Telegraph on Tuesday. “The plan is to open around 25 Next stores on 15 June,” they said.

Primark

Primark, which does not offer e-commerce, will be particularly eager to reopen having seen sales plummet from £650 a month to zero. It has confirmed that all stores will re-open on June 15, after store managers returned to work two weeks ago to begin readying shops for the return of customers.

A spokesperson said that the chain will be putting in place "strict health and safety measures including a strict social distancing protocol, providing personal protection for employees and customers and increased in-store cleaning."

Reiss

The upscale high street chain has confirmed to the Telegraph that it will be opening stores on 15th June, and will share further plans on its health and safety measures per the Government’s guidance in the coming days.

Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors

Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors, all of which are owned by US conglomerate Capri Holdings, expect to have the majority of stores across Europe reopened by early July.

The group's stores will have modified opening hours so that they can adhere to increased cleaning and sanitising procedures. Customers who are not wearing face masks will be provided with them, while staff will wear face masks and gloves - they will also have their temperatures checked at the start of their shifts. Hand sanitiser dispensers will be available for customers and staff to use too.

Store capacity will be limited in order to ensure social distancing, and the stores will be outfitted with markers and signage to remind shoppers to follow guidelines. Customers will also be encouraged to pay by card and use contactless payment methods where possible.

Beaverbrooks

The high street jeweller will reopen its 70 stores across the UK on 15th June, and says customers will be permitted to try on jewellery.

New hygiene measures will include protective Perspex screens at consultation points, dedicated staff members for each shopper and reduced numbers of customers allowed into each store. Floor markings and physical boundaries will ensure safe social distancing, and customers will be required to use hand sanitiser before entering - they will also be offered masks and gloves. Staff will have temperature checks before starting work.

The chain says it has introduced a rigorous hygiene process to ensure that there is no transmission of the virus through trying on jewellery. A limited selection of stock will be rotated on a regular basis and cleaned with a specialist solution that will disinfect jewellery between wears.

Anna

The boutique fashion retailer's six UK stores will reopen on 15th June on a by-appointment basis. There will be a limit of two customers in a store at any given time, and customers will have to wear face masks when trying on clothes. “We will have masks in the fitting room because I think it's really important for clients to wear masks when putting things over their head,” says owner Anna Park. Customers will also be encouraged to take clothes home rather than trying them on in-store.

Any accessories handled by a customer will be cleaned with an antiseptic wipe afterwards. “I think people will be a bit nervous about picking up things like that,” says Park, “[but] we'll be wiping everything before and after use. To be honest with you, that's something we've usually done anyway - we do always wipe the jewellery.”

Mouki Mou

The luxury boutique on London's Chiltern Street will reopen on 15th June, and founder Maria Lemos wants the customer experience to not only be safe, but better than before. Already, she is having a hand sanitiser made especially for the store by Aoiro in Germany.

"Whilst in lockdown, we have taken the opportunity to redecorate our store and rethink our visual merchandising," she says. "When we reopen, we will continue much as before, with strict rules of hygiene and cleanliness of the shop.

"Only two staff members will be in at one time, one upstairs and one downstairs. Our clients will be coming in one at a time, and we relish spending proper time with each one of them. All clothes that are tried on will be steamed immediately."

Pretty Ballerinas

The footwear brand, which specialises in flats, will be reopening its Brook Street and Marylebone stores on 15th June, with its five other London boutiques to reopen in the following weeks.

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