- Huw Hughes
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Reiss is the latest British fashion brand to announce plans to reopen
its stores after months of them being closed due to the Covid-19
pandemic.
The premium label has already begun reopening select stores in Europe,
and from 15 June will open 26 stores across the UK, including stand-alone
and outlet stores.
It comes in contrast to the reopening strategy of British fast-fashiom
giant Primark, which announced this week that it would reopen all 153 of its
stores in England on 15 June.
Reiss said it has implemented necessary health and safety measures
in line with the government’s advice. That includes restricting the number
of shoppers in stores at a time, introducing hand sanitising stations at
entrances, frequent cleaning rotations, as well as reduced trading hours to
11am – 6pm from Monday to Saturday and 11am – 5pm on Sundays.
There will also be limited accessibility to fitting rooms, with shoppers
instead encouraged to purchase products and try them on at home. The
returns policy has been extended to 60 days, and all returns will be
sanitised. Optional disposable face covers will be available for customers
using fitting rooms and the spaces will be disinfected after each use. Pop
socks will be provided to customers trying on shoes.
In terms of staff health and safety, they will be provided with
essential team training about the new measures and will be provided with
face masks and disposable gloves.
Reiss CEO Christos Angelides said that the company had been working on
its phased reopening plan for a number of weeks, and ensured stores would
be “carefully managed” once reopened. “We have been encouraged by the Reiss
stores that have reopened in Europe where the reaction from our customers
has been very positive when
shopping the new collection,” he said.
“We have transferred key learnings from our European teams and customers
to ensure a safe, robust and enjoyable experience in the UK. We very much
look forward to welcoming our customers back through our doors on 15 June.”
Photo: Reiss SS20 Campaign, courtesy of the brand
