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Dunelm to reopen ALL its 151 stores across the UK

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Dunelm has reopened the doors of 151 shops as the government eases restrictions on homeware stores.

The retailer says the outlets across England and Northern Ireland have reopened with new social distancing and safety measures in place.

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Dunelm has reopened all stores in England and Northern Ireland
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Dunelm has reopened all stores in England and Northern IrelandCredit: Alamy

Earlier this week the retailer began by opening 39 of its shops.

Today it has said all of them are now safely reopen, excluding eight in Wales and 12 in Scotland.

Non-essential retailers, such as Dunelm, had to close from March 23 under the government's lockdown rules.

The homeware chain reopened for home delivery only at the end of April, before reopening stores for click and collect orders last week.

Now it's reopened 151 stores for browsing and in-store purchases, although it says its Pausa Coffee Shops will remain closed until they can safely be reopened.

It says stores in Wales and Scotland will remain closed in line with guidance in those countries but these shops are open for click and collect.

It's also introduced a host of safety measures for inside stores and for deliveries - see the box below for the full list.

There is also a 50 per cent clearance sale on items including rugs, bathroom products, and lights.

It follows the government easing restrictions on homeware retailers and garden centres.

If you are visiting a store, you will have the added option of claiming click and collect orders from internal collection desks, as well as external collection points or delivery to car options. 

Click and collect from external collection points or to your car will also remain in place.

How is Dunelm keeping staff and shoppers safe?

DUNELM says it's made the following changes to ensure stores are safe to reopen for browsing and click and collect deliveries:

  • Improved communication around the importance of health and safety in the current situation
  • Reorganised processes to guarantee 2metre social distancing in all areas
  • Staggered start times and breaks with reduced numbers of staff on site at any time to avoid unnecessary contact
  • Introduced a one way system for staff arriving and exiting
  • Given personal hygiene equipment to staff
  • Enhanced its cleaning regime and hygiene protocols for all personal employee equipment and across all common areas
  • Closed off locker areas and brought in extra toilets to ensure they can be regularly cleaned
  • Dedicated senior managers responsible for implementing all new protocols
  • Put marshalls in place to ensure all new protocols are being followed.
  • For large item deliveries that require a two person team, it is operating in two vehicles to maintain social distancing. 
  • When carrying items to customer doorsteps, drivers will wear facemasks to ensure their safety when 2 metre distancing is not possible.

Delivery costs vary depending on the item and type of delivery but it ranges from being free for orders over £49 to costing £9.95 for furniture and large items.

Click and Collect orders placed before lockdown have been cancelled and customers should have received an email about being refunded. If you haven't, contact Dunelm.

Shoppers with in store purchases from March 1, 2020 onwards are allowed to return or exchange items for up to 56 days after stores reopen, which means you can now take back items to the stores in the box above. 

For online and furniture orders there's a separate returns policy in place - see Dunelm's website for more information.

A statement on the website reads: "As with everything we've done so far we have approached this carefully.

"We started by re-opening just a few stores in the Midlands first, then expanded to a group of 39 stores covering more of the UK.

"We are very happy to now be re-opening all stores in England and Northern Ireland."

Opening times also vary by location so use Dunelm's store locator tool to check your nearest.

Fast food restaurants including McDonald's and KFC have also started reopening.

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Furniture Village has also said all of its shops will be open by Saturday.

While Poundland has also reopened more branches ahead of the bank holiday.

Garden centres to re-open on Wednesday as part of Boris Johnson’s ‘unlockdown’ master plan
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