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Business News Retail
HMV announces plans for re-opening as COVID-19 shutdown rules are relaxed
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 12 June 2020
With non-essential retailers in England allowed to re-open for business on Monday, HMV has announced a number of measures it is introducing to reduce the risk of shoppers and staff contracting or spreading COVID-19 while in store.
Those measures include hand sanitiser stations that customers will be required to use before handling any product in each shop, and extra staff training in a bid to encourage better hygiene and social distancing within the entertainment retail chain’s stores.
Two new services are also being added to reduce the time customers need to spend on the premises. ‘List And Leave’ will allow customers to drop off a list of the products they require. Staff members will then gather up and pack those products which the customer can pick up later in the day.
An alternative ‘Ring And Reserve’ service means customers can also phone in their list, meanwhile ‘Click And Collect’ is set to return to the retailer’s website. So, good news all round for fans of alliteration.
When customers use one of those services, staff will also recommend other products that might be of interest, in a bid to ensure all-important impulse buying remains part of the high street experience.
All of HMV’s 92 stores in England – including four Fopp stores – are re-opening, as is the retailer’s Belfast branch. Shops in Scotland and Wales will remain closed for the time being due to different COVID-19 rules being in force there.
Commenting on the big re-opening, HMV owner Doug Putman said: “Our teams have been working on plans to re-open since the day we had to close our doors. We’ve redesigned our store layouts so that customers can make their way through the stores, buy what they want and pay seamlessly, while [still providing] spaces for those who want to browse while maintaining social distancing”.
He added: “We’ve sought to keep as much of what people love about the HMV and Fopp experience intact and build on the experience whilst ensuring that customers can shop with us comfortably and confidently”.
