European IKEA Stores Begin To Safely Reopen

Three European countries have re-opened IKEA stores this week, after 11 stores in Germany opened their doors last week.

IKEA stores in Croatia and Denmark opened on April 27, followed by IKEA Netherlands a day later. IKEA Austria is due to re-open on May 2. All re-opened stores have implemented enhanced safety measures to ensure co-workers and customers feel safe to work and shop.

“We are particularly careful to comply with the highest safety and hygiene requirements. The safety of our customers and co-workers is always our top priority.” said Dennis Balslev, CEO and County Sustainability Officer (CSO) of IKEA Retail Germany.

During March 2020, many IKEA stores were closed following the spread of Covid-19, with around 300 stores out of 380 closed.

The initial priority during the closure period was to undertake actions to protect the health and livelihoods of co-workers and the communities we operate in who were affected.

At the same time, IKEA co-workers have been working hard to meet customers’ needs through online fulfilment, where it has been safe to do so.

Tolga Öncu, Retail Operations Manager, IKEA Retail (Ingka Group), said: “We are pleased to re-open some stores. Safety has been at the heart of all re-opening decisions to ensure a secure shopping and working environment for customers and co-workers.”

Where stores have re-opened, robust enhanced safety measures have been implemented. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Protecting customers and co-workers with increased hygiene practices
• Placing screens around cash registers and customer service points
• Enhancing physical distancing, enabled by a stricter control of visitor numbers
• Småland children’s play area and customer restaurants remain closed in confirmed re-openings to date
• No physical planning meetings currently available, with virtual meetings offered as an alternative

The above will be monitored to continue to follow and implement recommendations and measures from local authorities.

The IKEA vision to create a better everyday life for the many people remains. This vision, alongside the IKEA values have never been more important as we navigate through this time.

Source : IKEA

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