Temporary Closures at Department Stores and Marts on the 7th
Retail Industry on Alert Whenever Confirmed Cases' Visit Routes Are Announced
Daily Sales Losses Reach Tens to Hundreds of Billions of Won
On the 7th, the Lotte Department Store Main Branch in Jung-gu, Seoul, where a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection visited, will temporarily close until the 9th. Next to the closure notice, customers wearing masks are leaving the department store. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The distribution industry is on high alert due to the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia). Temporary closures are occurring one after another as it has been revealed that confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus have visited various locations.
On the 7th, Lotte Department Store’s main branch confirmed that the 23rd confirmed patient had visited, and the store temporarily closed at 2 p.m. that day. Lotte Department Store made an announcement about the temporary closure, and as soon as customers left, the store immediately entered temporary closure.
Accordingly, Lotte Duty Free Myeongdong Main Branch, located inside the Lotte Department Store main branch, also closed its doors. Lotte Duty Free stated, “Upon confirming that a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus had visited the Lotte Department Store main branch, we promptly decided to end business for the day and take temporary closure measures.”
Lotte Department Store and the duty-free shop plan to resume operations on the 10th after carrying out disinfection measures.
The problem lies in the enormous amount of damage. Both the Lotte Department Store main branch and Lotte Duty Free Myeongdong Main Branch are the top-grossing stores within Lotte. Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus, customer numbers have decreased, and on top of that, the stores’ operations have been suspended, resulting in massive losses. The sales loss during the temporary closure period is reported to be in the hundreds of billions of Korean won.
The hotel and supermarket visited by the 23rd confirmed patient also entered temporary closure on the 7th. The President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, where the patient stayed, will remain closed until the 16th. Additionally, Emart Mapo Gongdeok Branch will conduct disinfection work until the 9th and will decide on reopening after consulting with health authorities.
This is the third time Emart has suspended store operations, following the Gunsan and Bucheon branches. The Bucheon branch was confirmed to have been visited by the 12th and 14th confirmed patients, a married couple, on the 30th of last month, and it suspended operations on the 2nd before reopening on the 4th. The Gunsan branch temporarily closed from the 31st of last month to the 2nd of this month and resumed operations on the 3rd.
Earlier, some duty-free shops also suspended operations but reopened on the 7th. Shilla Duty Free Seoul and Jeju branches, as well as Lotte Duty Free Jeju branch, entered temporary closure on the 2nd. These duty-free shops reportedly had daily sales reaching up to 10 billion Korean won.
The first case of workplace closure also occurred. GS Home Shopping, the workplace of the 20th confirmed patient, temporarily closed at 1 p.m. on the 6th and resumed operations on the 8th. During this period, all home shopping broadcasts were reruns.
In response, a distribution industry official said, “Although we have strengthened the usual disinfection work since the novel coronavirus outbreak, it is an unavoidable situation when a confirmed patient visits,” adding, “Honestly, I feel like putting masks on the stores themselves.”
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