TOUS, the leading Spanish jewelry and accessories brand in the affordable luxury segment, has been preparing to resume the activity following government and health guidelines in each country. In the case of Portugal, TOUS already opened a store in Lisbon on May 4, at rua Garrett, and another in Funchal. To these two openings, a third one was added on May 22 in Ponta Delgada. Now the company is preparing to open the 34 remaining stores it has in the country starting June 1.

TOUS currently has 37 physical stores in Portugal, in addition to the online sales channel. The stores are located in the main Portuguese cities such as Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Braga, Guimarães, Aveiro, Viseu, Leiria, Funchal and Ponta Delgada. In addition, the brand also has spaces at the Lisbon and Porto airports; as well as El Corte Inglés from both Lisbon and Vila Nova de Gaia.

With the aim of offering maximum safety to its employees, customers and communities, TOUS created a specific COVID-19 Occupational Safety and Health Commission to evaluate all current protocols and propose new safety measures, which follow the recommendations of the Direção Geral of Saúde Portuguesa.

Within the plan prepared by this commission is the Customer Care Ritual COVID-19, a protocol that combines the quality of customer service with specific occupational health and safety measures for their equipment at the point of sale.

In addition to basic cleaning and disinfection measures, the provision of gloves, masks and disinfectant gel for customers, as well as personal protective equipment for sales teams, and the adaptation of spaces to ensure the capacity and safety distance allowed. TOUS has developed other security elements in its own workshops to go one step further in creating a safe space for customers. Thus, the company has adapted its production system to create 3D printed earring testers that will allow the customer to test the pieces without directly manipulating them.

The TOUS workshop is also developing methacrylate protection partitions, similar to those already found in pharmacies or supermarkets, which will be placed on the counters of all its stores. The company is also studying new security elements to apply them in the future, if necessary.

Jewelry hygiene throughout the process

The jewelery company has worked for a hundred years following the highest quality standards and will continue to do so, assuring customers that all parts are safe. For this, before leaving the workshop, all the pieces will be disinfected with a hydroalcoholic or hydrogen peroxide solution that ensures the elimination of any bacteria.

Once in the store, the parts will also be disinfected before and after each manipulation of a customer or TOUS staff, with specific products for this and, in some stores, with ultrasound machines, a device that allows extreme cleaning to disinfect parts. jewelers and continue to offer the after-sales service in the appropriate sanitary conditions. Likewise, in all stores there is a solution to have a dry disinfection.

Employee safety

All TOUS employees, whether at the point of sale, such as in central offices and workshops, will have to follow a specific safety protocol, such as taking the temperature daily, using personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks, maintaining the safety distance and the permitted capacity, and use the common spaces that have been adapted and adapted to the new regulations.

Advanced omnichannel at customer service

Being close to the customer at all times is the priority of TOUS, that is why the company has been adjusting its systems to the new reality of each moment in order to continue offering a close and excellent service, also following the recommended sanitary measures in each case.

Thus, on the one hand, the company adapted internal processes to ensure a maximum safety and hygiene protocol in its e-commerce channel, which in April experienced notable growth. In Portugal, during the period in which the physical stores have been closed, online sales have grown 637% compared to the previous year, coming from a growth