What time does Primark open today and which shops are reopening first?

PRIMARK has revealed its plans for reopening stores today as Britain eases itself out of the third coronavirus lockdown.

Until now, the high street fashion chain has remained shut since January 4, when the third lockdown forced all non-essential stores to close.

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Primark stores will soon be able to welcome back shoppers againCredit: Reuters

But Primark is allowed to welcome shoppers back again from today – as long as it’s safe to do so.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled his roadmap for lifting lockdown and getting the country back to normal in February.

When will Primark reopen?

Primark is reopening 160 shops in England and Wales today.

It plans on reopening its 20 shops in Scotland on April 26, its owner ABF revealed in a trading statement.

For the first week from April 12, stores will open for two extra hours per day on average – typically an hour earlier and later.

Huge queues are expected though, so Primark is urging shoppers to “keep up the support and spirit” they showed last year when waiting in line.

When the high street favourite opened its doors again after the last lockdown lifted in December, some Primark stores were open for 24 hours.

Keen shoppers lined the streets and queued for Primark in the dark from 5am.

To find your nearest Primark store you can use its locator tool.

Will shopping at Primark be different when stores reopen?

This includes making sure people can keep a safe distance from one another, and staggering shift times.

Primark is reopening with the same extensive social distancing rules and safety measures that fans will have already experienced last summer when shops were allowed to reopen then.

Customers will be asked to sanitise their hands when they enter stores and they will have to wear a mask.

There is social distancing signage, protective screens on the tills and baskets will be sanitised between uses.

Tannoy announcements will remind shoppers of social distancing rules and encourage them to cover their nose and mouths.

Primark is also extending its returns policy for shoppers.

Customers who’ve got a receipt that says they can return items from January 31 onwards have an additional 28 days from when shops open.

It has also paused the expiry dates on gift cards, so shoppers can use ones that expired during lockdown.

Fitting rooms will be closed – but Primark says it will keep this policy under review.

There will be extra security on the door to help manage the huge numbers of shoppers expected to turn up.

Here is the list of rules shoppers will have to follow from today when the high street reopens

Will there be a Primark sale?

Fashion fans may be disappointed to know Primark won’t launch a sale when stores reopen.

A spokesperson told The Sun: “We have carefully reviewed our stock and we will follow our normal approach, which will mean no special sales or offers.”

But The Sun has found a way to spot “secret” sale items in stores.

These items can be reduced by half or more of their original price.

Every store will have a small number of reduced items and these are marked using red stickers.

The items are usually end of season items or stock that is being discontinued.

If shoppers want to find the hidden bargains then they should ask a member of Primark’s customer service staff to point them out.

Some stores may even have a rail of sale items – but it does vary between stores.

But only a tiny proportion of stock is discounted.

When we visited Primark’s Westfield store in London last week ahead of the fashion giant’s reopening today, we found just two jumpers marked down in price.

Primark didn’t launch a sale when stores reopened in June either.

This was despite the retailer building up almost £2billion-worth of unsold stock during previous lockdowns, due to not selling clothes online.

The retailer has previously warned how its monthly sales have plummeted from £650million a month to nothing.