Amore·LG Household & Health Care New Coronavirus Emergency Response... "Ban on Business Trips to China" (Comprehensive)

Shinsegae International Temporarily Closes Tomboy and BOB Stores in Wuhan, China

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Yoo-jin] As fears of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) spread, domestic fashion and beauty companies are struggling to come up with countermeasures, including issuing travel restrictions to China.

On the 28th, LG Household & Health Care and Amorepacific decided to completely suspend employee business trips to China following a series of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. Both LG Household & Health Care and Amorepacific have subsidiaries in Shanghai, China.

A representative from LG Household & Health Care stated, "We have completely put employee business trips to China on hold and made it mandatory for staff working at offline stores such as domestic duty-free shops and department stores to wear masks."

Amorepacific decided to implement work-from-home for employees who visited major outbreak areas of Wuhan pneumonia (China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) during the Lunar New Year holiday and to refrain from sending Korean employees on business trips to China except in unavoidable cases.

An Amorepacific representative said, "We are replacing business trips with video conferences, emails, and phone calls. We have also completed the placement of hand sanitizers and masks at Amorepacific headquarters on every floor and entrance, as well as at major commercial district stores such as Myeongdong."

Since the 21st, Amorepacific has mandated mask-wearing for all employees at its Shanghai production and research facilities, placed thermometers, and implemented access control. Store employees in China have been instructed to work or stay at home according to local government measures.

An Amorepacific representative added, "We have established an emergency contact network in China and set up a continuous response system to monitor emergency situations during the Lunar New Year period."

The number of offline stores of five Amorepacific brands including Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Mamonde, and Etude House in China reaches about 1,800 (including road shops and department stores).

Shinsegae International has also decided to temporarily close its Shanghai subsidiary for the time being. Since the 24th, Shinsegae International has been closing the offline stores of Tomboy and BOB located in Wuhan, China.

A Shinsegae International representative said, "The reopening schedule for offline stores in Wuhan is currently undecided," and added, "We plan to send masks from Korea to local store employees in China later."