Woodie’s stores have reopened nationwide

WOODIE’S DIY, home and garden opened the doors of their 35 stores, including Castlebar, this morning with a warm welcome from the homemakers of Ireland who have been eagerly awaiting the return of DIY and garden centres.

The first customers started queuing at 7 a.m. for the scheduled 9 a.m. opening at outlets throughout the country. Half an hour later Woodie’s decided to open their doors early to reduce customer waiting time, alleviate the build-up of queues and to facilitate a smoother flow of customers into the store.

Customers were impressed with safety measures put in place for the queues all the way through to the checkout.

The company has spent in excess of half a million euro on Covid-19 safety measures in preparation for their re-opening.

Safety measures include sanitation stations at the front of every store where all customers must sanitise their hands before entering the store (even if already wearing gloves), perspex screens on all checkouts, face shields, masks and t-shirts reminding everyone to stay two metres apart. They have also issued a tub of hand cream for every colleague as they are being encouraged to repeatedly wash their hands throughout the day.

The stores have gradually been re-stocked over the last two months as the supply chain has steadily increased and today Woodie’s customers took full advantage of the newly stocked shelves.

On re-opening, CEO of Woodie’s, Declan Ronayne, said: “It feels like the right time to re-open and we are delighted to do so. Having spent much of the lockdown further enhancing our social distancing and hygiene measures we are pleased to reopen our stores and to do so with confidence for the safety of our customers and colleagues.

“It has been a difficult period for everyone and we believe DIY and gardening has an important role to play in the mental health for most of us who remain largely confined to our homes and gardens.

“Our stocks are more than sufficient to meet ongoing demand so there is no reason to rush to your local store or to bulk buy. In that way we can ensure the safest possible DIY shopping environment for everyone.”

* Photo: Health and safety measures at the Woodie's store in Bray, similar to other stores around the country.