Reiss opts for phased UK reopenings after successful Europe return

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 2, 2020

One of British fashion retail’s biggest success stories, Reiss, is opting for a phased approach to reopening from this month and said that it has seen successful reopenings at a number of stores in Europe.

While some retailers, such as Primark, are opening large swathes of stores from June 15, Reiss is choosing to open only 26 across the country on the first day. These will include both full-price standalones and outlet stores and further reopenings will follow a few weeks later.

CEO Christos Angelides said the company has been working on its plans for a number of weeks and has 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 added that “we have transferred key learnings from our European teams and customers to ensure a safe, robust and enjoyable experience in the UK”.

As with all of its retail peers, the company will be controlling the number of customers in-store at any one time, with clear social distancing policies in place and easy-to-use hand sanitising stations at the entrance of every store and at cash desks. It will also be encouraging contactless payments and all till areas will be sanitised after every use.

There have been big question marks over the availability of changing rooms in fashion shops and the government has been actively encouraging companies to keep them closed. But Reiss said that it will be “operating limited accessibility to fitting rooms, encouraging customers, where possible, to purchase product and try on at home and extending our returns policy to 60 days to accommodate”.

For those customers who do feel the need to try on what they might be buying, there will be optional disposable face covers, disinfection of fitting rooms after every use and product sanitisation procedures in place. A product sanitisation process will be in place for all customer returns and pop socks will be provided and worn by customers when trying on shoes. 

Trading hours will be limited to 11am-6pm (except on Sunday when stores will close an hour earlier), with the company saying that this will allow staff to travel to and from work outside of peak periods.