For this long upcoming weekend, shops will mostly open for normal opening hours for Good Friday. Stores like Tesco, Penny Market or Lidl will not open for Easter Monday. Photo credit: Casadei Graphics
Czech Republic, April 14 (BD) – Shops will be open during normal opening hours on Good Friday, as well as both weekend days, but will be closed on Easter Monday. As there is a state of emergency in place, shops had the option to open on Monday, as the Sales Hours Act requiring shops over 200 square metres to close is suspended. Traders have nevertheless decided to close their establishments on Monday.
“The state of emergency allows us the freedom of choice, which we have taken advantage of so that our colleagues at our stores and distribution centres can relax with their families,” Albert announced. Only the hypermarket in the Mercury shopping centre at the railway station in České Budějovice will be open on Easter Monday.
Billa, on the other hand, will operate a store at the main train stations in Prague and Brno. Its stores at Shell petrol stations will also remain open.
Albert on the other side will be open on Friday but will be closed on Monday as they announced on Twitter: “In our stores, customers can shop during normal opening hours on Friday and during the weekend. However, Albert stores will remain closed on Easter Monday.”
Tesco, Penny Market, COOP, Lidl, Kaufland and Globus hypermarkets will also close their stores on Easter Monday. Makro supermarkets will also remain closed, as will some shopping centres. “How will Lidl be open during the holidays? Like every year, we will take Easter Monday off” Lidl announced on Facebook a few days ago.
Customers will not be able to use the Arkády Pankrác or the Šestka shopping centre in Prague.
On Monday, people will not be able to shop at the Baumax, Bauhaus or OBI hobby shops, nor at the IKEA furniture store.
“The law prohibiting sales does not apply in a state of emergency. The Czech Trade Inspection Authority will therefore not carry out inspections on this Easter Monday. The same will apply for the public holiday on 8 May,” said Jiří Fröhlich, spokesman for the authority according to Novinky.cz.
