GAP Overtakes Sheinbaum and Opens its Online Store

Two weeks ago, Mexico City officials presented an ambitious plan that would return the city back to normality. However, hospital occupancy figures and the speed of COVID-19 contagion in the country's capital led Claudia Sheinbaum to announce last Friday that plans to reopen the city would be delayed. “The sectors that we had announced to open next week will not. Only food will be sold in street markets and flea markets. Restaurants will only be able to offer home delivery services. Department stores will not open and neither will hotels, shops in the Historical Center nor religious services,” said Claudia Sheinbaum, Head of Government of Mexico City.

Sheinbaum announced 10 days ago that shopping centers would be able to open in Mexico City next Thursday, June 25, but the contagion data has ruined those plans. However, the head of government assured that small neighborhood retail stores, the manufacturing industry and those professional services that have already resumed their activities will be able to continue working.

Considering the situation, brands like GAP have ramped up efforts to strengthen their presence in the country. The American retail giant, with more than 1,600 points of sale worldwide, has announced the opening of an online store with free shipping throughout the country. The US giant takes a step forward to maintain its position in Mexico, despite difficulties it is having to open its stores and corners in department stores in Mexico City, considered the country´s main market. “After being in the Mexican market for 11 years, we are very happy to offer our customers this new online option through an exclusive electronic store, in a channel that today represents the future of retail,” Enrique Lerma, Brand Manager General of Gap Mexico, told Expansión.

H&M has also continued with its plans to reopen its stores in the country despite it will not be able to open its stores in Mexico City until the COVID-19 situation improves in the city. According to the Swedish company, since June 15, 16 of its 50 stores have opened in the country at a 30 percent capacity. The states where H&M has reopened its doors are Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Quintana Roo, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon. H&M has also made progress in reopening its stores in other Latin American markets. In Colombia, H&M has opened two units in Medellin and one in Bogota, while in Uruguay activity is absolutely normal for the Swedish giant.