More major chains close due to virus

March 30, 2020
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Country Road’s flagship in Auckland, NZ.

Cotton On, Country Road and Myer are just some of the major retailers that closed stores and stood down staff over the weekend to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

While most retail stores and shopping centres can technically remain open, foot traffic and discretionary spending have fallen off a cliff, as consumers take on board the official advice to stay home.

A growing number of retailers in discretionary categories, especially fashion, have opted to close stores, citing their desire to support the public health measures.

On Sunday, Cotton On Group, which owns Cotton On, Cotton On Body, Cotton On Kids, Rubi, Typo, Factorie and Supre, announced it was closing its 650 stores in Australia at 5pm. It did not specify when they would reopen.

It will continue to pay all full-time and part-time retail staff for the next month, and has connected with Woolworths and Coles to redeploy its casual team members.

“As we navigate through some pretty tough times right now, our number one priority is to protect the livelihoods of our teams around the world as best we can,” Peter Johnson, Cotton On Group CEO, said.

Country Road Group, which operates Country Road, Trenery, Mimco and Politix, also made the decision to temporarily close all bricks-and-mortar stores.

It is owned by South Africa-based Woolworths Holdings, which also owns David Jones. The department store is currently still open. Myer, however, closed its stores for at least the next month at 5pm on Sunday.

Here is a long, but not exhaustive, list of retail businesses that have announced store closures over the past week:

Retail