BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Bike shops are among businesses which can remain open during England’s national lockdown announced yesterday by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The PM last night instructed people to stay at home to ‘control the virus, protect the NHS and save lives’ in a decision that follows a rise in infections, hospital admissions and case rates across the country.
From today, people are only allowed to leave their homes for the following reasons:
– shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person
– go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home
– exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area
– meet your support bubble or childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one
– seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse)
– attend education or childcare – for those eligible
All non-essential retail must close – however bicycle shops can remain open, following COVID-19 secure guidelines. Other essential retail such as food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, building merchants and suppliers of building products and off-licences can also stay open, as can petrol stations, automatic car washes, vehicle repair and MOT services, and taxi and vehicle hire businesses, among others. More information can be found here.
Pure Electric has also confirmed that it will keep its stores open during this new lockdown period. The retailer has 17 stores across the UK selling electric bikes and scooters and will also continue to trade online. Employees are working from home wherever possible and where they are coming into work, for example in stores, full safety measures are in place to protect staff and customers.
Peter Kimberley, Pure Electric CEO, said: “This is a tough start to 2021 but at least this time the Government’s vaccine programme offers the hope of a way through the situation. Electric bikes can be used to travel where necessary and to get some exercise to help get through the next seven weeks. Demand for new e-bikes and for bike servicing facilities was high right through 2020 and as an essential retailer we have asked our staff to once again keep our stores open.”
Read the January issue of BikeBiz below:
