Amidst all the unfortunate news of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closures, courtesy Coronavirus, there’s finally a breath of relief for the fashion fraternity in 2020. After weeks of lockdown, certain restrictions are being lifted in some states and countries of the US with respect to the non-essential business that includes some of the fashion retail stores. Although, they would be only allowed to do so by taking extra precautions at their end.
Retailers like Gap, Macy’s, American Eagle, and many others plan to get their business up and running after several weeks of shutdown.
Gap Inc. officially announced opening 800 of its stores including Old Navy, Athleta, Gap, Banana Republic, Janie, and Jack and Intermix by the end of May. Their safety guidelines consist of rigorous sanitation, closure of fitting rooms, providing masks, and cutting down the work hours of the employees. Macy’s, on the other hand, opened 68 stores by May 5, aims to open another 50 by May 11 and the rest of 775 stores by mid-June. Their safety precautions include employee screening, no touching of makeup samples, no beauty services, and fitting room closures amongst other items on their exhaustive list.
American Eagle has opened doors to its 43 outlets as of May 7 and plans to open 600 more by the end of May. Quarantining the tried items, free face masks, and limited occupancy lies in their list of preventive measures.
While Nordstrom has not opened any of its stores yet, it has already shut 16 of its outlet permanently. Tapestry, who has recently faced heavy losses in its Q3, hasn’t fully opened any stores. Although, it is offering virtual shopping appointments in 40 of its stores.
(Source- Fashionista)