Spanish fashion retailer Mango has ushered in a “turning point” in the COVID-19 crisis as Mango begins to reopen physical stores in Europe. It is expected that more than 620 stores will reopen by the end of this month.
Mango said in a statement that local authorities in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and other countries have begun to relax nationwide blockade restrictions.
The first batch of stores to reopen were in Austria and the Netherlands. The authorities allowed 4 stores in Austria and 16 stores in the Netherlands to restart operations respectively. Mango said on April 22 that it planned to reopen 16 remaining stores in the Netherlands and 42 in Germany.
In addition, Mango will reopen 27 stores in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Georgia, Cyprus, and Ukraine.
These stores are located in 62 locations in 17 countries. Due to the relatively small impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in these areas, some stores have not stopped operating so far. These countries include Finland, Norway, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, and Belarus. Also in countries such as China, 53 stores have reopened in recent weeks.
A total of 135 Mango stores are now open to consumers, and this number is expected to increase by 483 in April, bringing the total to 621.
Mango said: Our first priority is the health of our employees and customers. In compliance with local laws, all stores have a high level of safety and hygiene measures in place, which include limiting store capacity, ongoing cleaning and disinfecting, limited opening hours and providing personal protective equipment to employees and customers.
Because Mango’s product distribution system has not been affected and goods are still being transported, Mango has been selling goods on its online platform during the COVID-19 period (except for certain restricted areas).
As of the end of 2019, online sales accounted for almost 24% of Mango’s total turnover.
