Macy's Inc. plans to reopen all 775 of its Bloomingdale's, Bluemercury and Macy's stores within six weeks. The openings will occur in stages if conditions continue to improve as expected. The company plans to start with 68 stores in Georgia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee on Monday. Authorities in those states have loosened lockdown restrictions and allowed nonessential retailers to open their stores.

Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s will operate under reduced hours, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. A quarter of the stores reopening Monday are in properties owned by Simon, which plans to reopen 49 malls over the next four days. A second batch of 50 Macy’s will reopen May 11. The retailer has been offering curbside pickup at about 20 stores for the past week.

The company will review the cash-flow potential of each store before determining how it will operate after reopening, Macy’s Inc. CEO Jeff Gennette said. “Most stores will ultimately open to the full experience,” he saidThe company expects most stores to do about 20 percent of their typical business after initially opening. “We anticipate a gradual sales recovery,” Genette said. The retailer has confidence in the ability of its mall REIT landlords to get their properties up and running at high occupancy post-COVID-19, but Gennette worries about the retailer’s B and C mall locations. Before the pandemic, Macy’s Inc. had committed to closing 120 stores over the next several years, and Genette says COVID-19 could cause that number to increase.

Safety practices

Macy’s Inc. will redesign stores that reopen, Genette said, installing Plexiglass at cash registers,. Employees will wipe payment-system keypads after each use, and signage will enforce social distancing.

Beauty departments will offer no-touch consultations and demonstrations, and customers will be able to test products on paper diagrams of faces. The company will require customers to use hand sanitizer before trying on merchandise and will restrict fitting-room use. Additionally, items that have been tried on or returned will sit for 24 hours before returning to the sales floor.

The company will require employees to wear masks at work and to complete a wellness checklist before each shift. The check will include taking their temperatures and noting whether they’ve had symptoms in the previous 24 hours. Macy’s Inc. will make hand sanitizer available throughout stores for employees and customers.