1,500 retailers to reopen in Ireland this week

1,500 retailers to reopen in Ireland this week

As lockdown restrictions are gradually relaxed, 1,500 retailers are set to reopen in Ireland this week, according to Retail Excellence.

Garden centres, hardwares and farmers marts are among those allowed to open from Monday 18th May.

Commenting on the news, David Fitzsimons, from Retail Excellence, said the reopening would mean big costs for retailers.

“Monday is a different type of stage because it is a lot of big format stores like DIY, hardware, garden centres so the bigger the store, the bigger the cost,” he explained.

“Next Monday it is about €5,000 per store when you factor in all of the PPE and sneeze guards and the training and such.

“Phase Two will be less because it is small trades and obviously the smaller the store, the less the cost.”

Mr Fitzsimons added that preparations were going well.

“Reopening preparations are going well. There are about 1,500 stores going to open next Monday. Psychologically for those business owners they are happy to be back at it. They have made huge preparations in terms of social distancing and general safety protocols. It is great to see the economy getting back up again.”