Pennys boss asked to open stores 24 hours after easing lockdown restrictions ahead of Christmas.

Extended working hours mean shoppers can easily distance themselves from each other and help with lost sales, Primark chief executive George Weston commented.

The Telegraph reported that stores are safe if consumers know that stores are open at all times, Weston said.

“If we can do business 24 hours a day in some stores, we can easily separate people from each other,” Weston said.

“If everyone knew there was plenty of business time, we could keep stores safe,” he said. [and] They don’t have to rush through six hours on a Sunday. “

After the first lockdown in the summer, long queues were seen when penny stores across Ireland reopened. However, as the country shifted to Level 5 lockdown controls, the franchise had to close its branches again.

Mr Weston said opening more shops would give shoppers a chance to get ready for the festive season.

“It will give users the confidence that they will have time to do Christmas shopping on High Street between December 2nd and 24th.

“This will allow my business to sell a lot of Christmas stock. I think it will be a big step in allowing High Street to extend working hours,” he added.

In a statement to Independent.com, a Pennies spokesman said the extended working hours would be welcomed as it would allow it to meet “more anticipated customer demand.”

“When we reopen in December, we will welcome the extension of our store opening hours, as this will help meet the more anticipated customer demand and reduce customer queues by extending the shopping time more. ”

A spokesman said “extensive security measures are in place” across their stores, including Perpex screens and the maximum number of permitted customers.

“Our stores have extensive security measures in place to help protect our employees and customers. Strict social distance keeping protocol, limit on the number of customers allowed in the store, perspex screens to protect employees and customers, make use of face masks and in-store cleaning increased,” the statement said.

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