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The São Paulo state government’s decision to postpone the start of social relaxation until May 31 caused frustration among merchants in shopping malls and street retailers, who expected to resume on Monday. The leaders of these two segments said retailers will respect the measures, but hoped for a better balance between health and the economy in the decision to resume activities. In addition, they collect compensation for dealing with losses caused by the extension of the quarantine.
“It was a great injustice to our sector,” said the president of the Association of Mall Merchants (Alshop), Nabil Sahyoun. According to him, shopping centers are in a much better condition than supermarkets to comply with the required security protocols in quarantine.
“You can put 50 supermarkets inside a mall,” said Sahyoun, arguing that the aisles of the mall are wide and the aisles of the supermarket are narrow, where it is possible to meet people.
The president of Alshop recalled that there are thousands of buildings in the city, where there are caregivers, security and cleaning workers who transit between work and their homes and that may eventually be spreading the virus. “So these people can work and the commercial sector is extremely protected today, right?”
Sahyoun said he was disappointed by the government’s decision. Since the beginning of the quarantine, shopping centers in the state of São Paulo have stopped selling R $ 8 billion. With this extension, the loss should increase. Therefore, it demanded measures to help tenants get through this period of no sales. These include tax deferrals, such as the Tax on the Movement of Goods and Services (ICMS), and more accessible lines of credit.
For Alfredo Cotait, president of the Federation of Trade Associations of the State of São Paulo, the government’s decision caused discouragement in the sector. “For the São Paulo metropolitan region, Baixada Santista, there were no conditions for flexibility, but for cities where the incidence of the disease is lower, yes.” Represents 420 trade associations spread throughout the state of São Paulo. “But we will accept and respect the decree,” he said.
It also demanded compensation to mitigate the negative impacts of lack of income in the sector, which is a major employer. “How are we going to survive this period?”
