Gap Inc. is sharing its strategic plan to re-open 800 stores by the end of May starting with a small numberr of Texas locations this week.
The plan includes insight on health and safety measures the brand is taking in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which shuttered retailers nationwide and on a global front back.
The openings will include Old Navy, Athleta, Gap, Banana Republic, Inermix and Janie and Jack stores.
“In working with industry partners and public officials to define Safe Shopping practices, we’re eager to begin welcoming our teams and customers back to our stores, and confident in our ability to safely scale North America openings over the coming months in line with local guidelines,” said Sonia Syngal, CEO, in the blog post. “We continue to use this crisis as an opportunity at every turn. As we leverage our stores as distribution hubs, lean into the meaningful acceleration of our online business and play forward the learnings from our Asia business where all locations are now open, we believe we’ll be well-positioned as this crisis subsides.”
Gap’s steps include:
• Implementing rigorous cleaning routines throughout each store and providing hand sanitizer stations at our front doors and cash wraps and temporarily closing fitting rooms.
• Supplying all team members with high-quality, reusable face masks to wear during their shifts and encouraging customers to wear a face-covering while shopping.
• Installing plexiglass health guard partitions in front of registers and for mobile payments
• Posting signage throughout the store encouraging customers to observe social distancing guidelines.
• Opening with reduced hours and actively monitoring the flow of customers in stores
• Temporarily closing restrooms and quarantining returns for 24 hours before putting them back on the sales floor.
• Ensuring teams follow healthy hygiene habits such as frequent hand washing/sanitizing and monitor for COVID-19 symptoms before heading to work with a provided health checklist.
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