The fifth wave of the epidemic has spread rapidly in various districts. The government has tightened the restrictions on gatherings earlier. The Retail Management Association said that even if retailers are not forced to close, many stores are already closed. The government has put forward three demands, including taking effective measures to force shop owners and retailers to work together in the same boat. Under the fifth wave of the epidemic, shopping malls will be exempted from the base rent, and only take a percentage of the turnover. The rent of street shop tenants will be reduced by half.
In addition, the association hopes that the government will include the retail industry in the new round of epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic funds, which also includes considering launching a new round of employment protection plan; and after the epidemic has eased, a new round of electronic consumer coupons will be launched.
Sales will record negative growth in the first half of the year
Xie Qiu Anyi, chairman of the Retail Management Association, said in the online conference that at the beginning of the fifth wave of the epidemic, the association estimated that the retail sales in Hong Kong in the first half of the year were flat year-on-year.
When asked whether the new wave of the epidemic will lead to layoffs and closings, she pointed out that most retailers are still gritting their teeth, cooperating with employees to get through the difficulties, retaining positions and basic salaries, but how long the situation can last depends on how much help the owners have. big.
Between February 14 and 16, the association visited 22 companies, involving 3,900 stores and employing more than 74,000 employees. The results show a comparison with the week before the implementation of the new social distancing measures (from February 3 to February 9). Base), retailer sales recorded double-digit declines, of which 70% of companies saw business declines of about 20%, and some fell as much as 60%.
The implementation of the vaccine pass may cause the flow to fall further
30% of the companies surveyed also estimated that business fell by 20% to 60% from February 17 to 23; they also estimated that after the implementation of the vaccine pass on the 24th of this month, the decline will further expand. The flow of people and business volume of shopping malls has dropped by half or more; 80% of the companies estimate that the flow of people and business volume of street stores will also decline, but the decline will be less than that of shopping malls.
Ren Liangan, managing director of ParknShop Supermarket, added that according to the guidelines issued by the government to retailers, many situations and responsibilities have not been clarified. Merchants will discuss with the authorities and cooperate with the implementation.
In terms of retail performance during the Lunar New Year, compared with 2020, 80% of the surveyed companies recorded a sales drop; 40% dropped by 40%; if compared with 2018, 90% of the surveyed companies recorded an 80% sales drop.
70% did not receive any rental support from the landlord
In terms of rent reduction for shops, 70% of the companies said that they have not received any rent support from the owners, and half of the companies even said that the owners are tough. , under the fifth wave of the epidemic, the retail industry is "the worst ever", and the retail sales figures may return to the sluggish level of 2020.
She also said that although there were signs of a rebound in the retail industry last year, but Hong Kong did not clear customs for a day, and there were no tourists coming, "the retail industry can't talk about recovery", so she publicly called for the government and owners to provide support.
