Gap Inc. is planning to reopen 800 of its apparel stores by the end of May, as states like Texas and South Carolina are slowly allowing certain businesses to open their doors that were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The openings will include Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta brands, all of which comes under the firm.
The San Francisco-headquartered company is among the several other retail brands in the likes of Macy’s, Nordstrom, Abercrombie & Fitch and Chico’s, that are taking steps to get back to business with precautionary measures.
Gap said that the fitting rooms and public restrooms will be closed upon opening of the stores and that the brand will quarantine the returned clothes for 24 hours before putting them back on the sales floor, and will also put up social distancing signs across the stores.
With the reopening of the stores, there will be noticeable changes like, for instance, the brand will be placing plexiglass dividers at registers to protect workers from shoppers, signs in stores encouraging customers to wear face coverings and to follow social distancing protocols, hand sanitisers will be positioned at store entrances, and store hours will be reduced for the foreseeable future.
Chief Executive Sonia Syngal said, “The biggest challenge for Gap with the reopening is to understand the unique requirements by county and state. Being trusted in this process is paramount for us.”
The company had warned investors on 23 April that it might not have enough cash to sufficiently fund operations.
The next day, Gap had issued US $ 2.25 billion of new secured bonds to help it repay existing debt and by the end of March, the firm drew down its US $ 500 million credit line and asserted that it was suspending dividend payments.
The retail firm had also stopped paying rent to its landlords which amounts to roughly US $ 115 million in North America.
Gap shares have fallen more than 58 per cent this year.
