Macy's (M -2.12%) continued its gradual reopening of stores today by opening locations in Colorado and Utah to in-store customers, adding approximately four dozen outlets to the 68 it reopened last week. Social distancing, hand sanitizer, limited fitting room access, and plexiglas checkout guards are among the measures in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Last week, Macy's openings focused on stores in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas. The company picked these states based on the local governors' relaxation of coronavirus health guidelines. Safety protocols include disinfecting keypads after each customer use, requiring customers to use hand sanitizer before trying on jewelry or watches, and 24-hour quarantines of items customers try on but don't buy.
Image source: Macy's, Inc.
Among the approximately 50 locations Macy's intends to reopen this week, 11 opened today in Colorado, all of them in the Denver metropolitan area. Most offer in-store shopping along with curbside delivery. Its stores are also reopening today in Salt Lake City, Utah. All stores are scheduled to resume operations by mid-June.
At least one investor appears confident in Macy's future potential. An SEC filing today indicates that Czech billionaire businessman and lawyer Daniel Kretinsky just bought a 5% stake in the company. Kretinsky, an energy and media magnate dubbed "the Czech sphinx," recently purchased a 5.35% interest in the U.K.'s postal service, the Royal Mail.
Kretinsky now owns 15.5 million shares in Macy's, becoming one of its five biggest shareholders according to Bloomberg. Speaking of other acquisitions, he recently remarked, "we simply believe that the current market is undervaluing certain very interesting and important companies."
