Penneys outlines reopening plans in Athlone

The wait is finally over as Penneys is set to welcome customers back to its 36 Irish stores, including Golden Island, Athlone.

From Monday, May 10, stores will be operating on a shopping by appointment basis, until full re-opening on Monday, May 17, in line with government guidelines.

Customers can book an appointment to shop in any Penneys store next week exclusively through its online booking system at Primark.com which opened at 10am this morning (Friday).

With limited numbers allowed in store, appointments are expected to book out quickly, but anyone disappointed won't have to wait much longer, as all Penneys stores will re-open fully on Monday 17 May. Full details and link to make an appointment next week can be found here.

Penneys will have extended opening hours across every store initially to help reduce queues, spread demand and give customers more time to shop safely. Times will vary by store so customers should check their local opening hours .

Safety remains the number one priority at Penneys so employees and customers can return to stores with confidence, maintaining the high safety standards in place in stores over the past year.

Penneys CEO, Paul Marchant, said: "We are thrilled to welcome everyone back to Penneys; we’ve really missed our customers and fantastic retail teams, so it feels great to finally reopen our doors. We can promise it will have been worth the wait; with our fresh new season fashion collections alongside our great value, everyday must-haves and all at Penneys’ famous amazing prices, there really is something for everyone waiting in-store.

Safety remains at the front of our minds. We have extended opening hours across all our stores to help meet demand safely but we’re also asking our customers to keep up the support and spirit they showed last year, particularly if queuing outside or in-store."