Benetton reopens stores in Goa, Panchkula, and Imphal

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
May 8, 2020

Global clothing brand Benetton has reopened several stores across India in locations including Goa, Panchkula, and Imphal and has taken a range of new safety precautions against the spread of coronavirus.

 
The men’s, women’s, and children’s wear retailer Benetton has opened around 12 of its over 350 brick-and-mortar stores in India, Livemint reported. In order to promote social distancing and curb the spread of coronavirus, the brand is encouraging cashless payments and online invoices in its reopened stores. The stores that have reopened also have limited staff and enforce a new policy of removing clothes that have been tried on from the shop floor for 24 to 48 hours in case they have been tried by someone infected with Covid-19.
 
However, the reopened locations are not the brand's busiest retail points. Stores in metros including Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune are the brand’s key markets but stores there remain shut as they are also currently coronavirus hotspots, with Mumbai reporting the highest number of confirmed cases in the country. 

The effects of the lockdown will set retailers in India back a year, Benetton’s CEO and managing director, Sundeep Chugh told Livemint.

Consumers are expected to have significantly less funds for non-essential goods after the lockdown lifts and the government has also announced that shopping areas such as malls could remain closed after the lockdown is scheduled to reopen on May 18. This could create further challenges for retailers such as Benetton.