Greggs PLC (LON:GRG) and John Lewis are planning to reopen their shops as Boris Johnson said on Monday it is too early to lift lockdown measures in full.
In his first speech since falling ill last month, the Prime Minister highlighted the risk of a second peak in cases of Covid-19.
READ: Greggs receives £150mln in government help, cash burn is slower than expected
A spokesperson for Greggs told Proactive the bakery chain is to open around 20 shops in Newcastle or in the North East from 5 May to trial operations with heightened safety measures.
Similarly, the John Lewis Partnership has drawn up a strategy to open some stores as soon as mid-May, the Mail on Sunday reported.
All of John Lewis’s 50 branches are currently shuttered, although customers can buy online.
The partnership’s Waitrose food division has remained open throughout the lockdown as an essential service.
Meanwhile, Burger King is expected to ramp up its delivery service by reopening ten more sites per week.
At the moment, the fast-food chain has six stores in activity with Deliveroo and Just Eat picking up deliveries, for a total of 550 sites across the UK.
Competitor McDonald’s Corp (NYSE:MCD) has been shuttered so far but is set to also offer delivery services by mid-May.
The Irish Farmers Journal revealed the original plan was to have venues closed until July, but the strategy has changed after some French restaurants started offering drive-through only.
In the retail sector, locksmith chain Timpson will trial 40 shops located inside supermarkets.
Now we’re allowed to reopen our shops inside supermarkets we are coming out of hibernation in 40 shops next week as a trial. We’ve been working hard to ensure shops are safe for our colleagues and customers, and social distancing works. Pods and High St to remain closed for now.
— James Timpson (@JamesTCobbler) April 26, 2020
The move follows last week’s reopening of Kingfisher PLC's (LON:KGF) 155 B&Q stores.