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| People shop at E-mart Traders in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in this 2020 file photo. Yonhap |
By Kim Jae-heun
All supermarkets and department stores in the capital region are expected to be hit hard by the government's latest measures to curb the rising COVID-19 cases.
New regulations will be enforced starting Monday, making it mandatory for all supermarkets and department stores to be closed after 10 p.m.
Under the Level 4 rules, retail stores bigger than 300 square meters will be classified as "Group 3" and allowed to stay open until 10. Over 53 percent of 3,839 discount stores and department stores in the country are located in the capital area.
The country's largest retailer E-mart and its warehouse-style discount chain Traders will move their closing time earlier by one hour to 10 p.m., from the current 11 p.m., at 84 branches. E-mart operates 158 branches across the country and 53.2 percent are located in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.
The retailer planned originally to expand its business hours by either 30 minutes or one hour starting July 9, but it canceled the move.
Its parent company Shinsegae has closed down the VIP lounges at its department stores. Customers can only order take-out beverages there.
Lotte Department Store has adopted the same policy for its "Most Valuable Guest Lounge." Lotte Group's discount store chain Lotte Mart will limit operating hours of its 59 branches in the capital area until 10 p.m. and the same goes for 63 Homeplus stores in the region.
All the retailers have closed down their culture centers and canceled offline events for the two-week Level 4 quarantine period.
But retailers say the biggest problem is the restriction on gatherings of more than three people, which will most likely reduce the number of customers visiting their stores.
"In general, 30 percent of department stores' sales are after 6 p.m. In the next two weeks, we can say that evening business will stop. Things will become difficult for department stores and supermarkets after 6 p.m.," an industry source said.
The retail industry had been expecting a big rebound in the second half of this year as the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to be coming under control with new daily cases falling to the 300 range until last month.
The market also showed signs of revitalization with people spending more than ever to compensate for missed opportunities for consumption earlier.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups also launched a big sales event called the Korea Companion Sales that was held from June 24 to July 11.
However, with new daily cases increasing swiftly from July 4 and recording all-time highs on Friday and Saturday, the sale event faced the worst-case scenario.
Meanwhile, retailers are going back to focus on their online business with groceries and fresh food sales.
"We will do our best to make sure the virus does not break out at our logistics centers," an industry source said.
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