Primark reveals rules shoppers must follow when stores in Edinburgh reopen

Fashion giant Primark has announced it will be implementing a host of new restrictions to ensure staff and customer safety when they reopen in Edinburgh.

Under current lockdown restrictions, high streets shops remain closed in Scotland, and are unlikely to reopen until phase three of the Scottish Government's four-phase route map towards reopening society.

But with phase one to begin on Friday, many shoppers across Edinburgh are now looking forward to visiting their favourite high street stores in the not too distant future.

Primark, who have branches at Princes Street and Fort Kinnaird, have now issued guidance on how they will run their stores in the future, to ensure social distancing is upheld.

Primark hopes to reopen soon.

A spokesperson for the retailer said: "Nothing matters more to us than the health and wellbeing of our employees and customers. That is why we will only re-open our stores in the UK once we are convinced that it is safe and right to do so.

"We are closely following all safety advice from government and will treat this as the minimum standard across all our stores. We will put in place rigorous health and safety measures including a strict social distancing protocol, providing personal protection for employees and customers and increased in-store cleaning.

"Of course, this is uncharted territory for us and our high street neighbours, which is why we will continuously monitor our re-openings and our health and safety policies to ensure we are doing the best we can to help protect our people and customers, as we all continue to adapt to the new normal.”

Here are all the safety measures being implemented across all Primark stores:

A strict social distancing protocol:

– Limits on the number of customers allowed in store at any one time to allow for the appropriate distance in between customers and employees, following local government guidelines

– Clear signage and floor decals, as well as dedicated employees and additional security staff, to guide customers through the store in a way that limits contact with others.

– Every second till will be closed to allow more space between customers and employees.

Personal protection for employees and customers :

– Hand sanitiser will be made available at the entrance and on the shop floor and back of house for employee and customer use. Face masks and gloves will be made available to employees if they wish to use them.

– Perspex screens have been installed on tills to protect customers and employees.

Increased in-store cleaning:

– The frequency and rigour of store cleaning will both increase, particularly around high frequency touchpoints such as tills, escalators, lifts, and employee areas in back of house.

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