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Apple to Reopen 10 of 17 Retail Stores in Italy Next Week

Apple to Reopen 10 of 17 Retail Stores in Italy Next Week

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. said it plans to reopen 10 of its 17 stores in Italy next week, the latest move to revive a retail sales network that was hammered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Cupertino, California-based tech giant is putting stringent health measures in place at the locations, as it has in other stores that are slowly reopening in the U.S., China, Australia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and South Korea.

“We’re excited to begin welcoming visitors back to some of our stores in Italy this Tuesday,” Apple said in a statement on Friday. “Our newly reopened stores will have significant safety procedures including temperature checks, social distancing and face coverings to ensure customers and employees continue to stay healthy.” The company will also let a limited number of customers in the stores at a time.

Italy was one of the first regions to be affected by the novel coronavirus and Apple closed its retail doors there relatively early. The company isn’t yet reopening its locations in Lombardy and Piedmont, two of the country’s hardest hit areas.

Beyond stores, Apple has operations and product development centers in Italy and restricted employee travel to the country at the beginning of March.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.