Supermarkets feared by restrictions will increase the number of security guards and cleaners, regulate flows on the grounds Business

Crowded parking lots and crowds of people. These types of images have been captured in recent weekends by photographers in supermarkets whose activities were not prohibited from the second presentation.

Without the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, such images end up overwhelming the patience of acting Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis.

On Tuesday, the head of government told reporters that this week is a critical turning point, so if supermarkets do not regulate the flow of shoppers in the coming days, their activities may be restricted.

The government has set a requirement of at least 10 m2. Area meters.

Acting Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga also spoke about this on Monday.

“We will monitor the situation this week and, if it does not change, the government is determined to make decisions on restrictions on supermarket chains, as has been done in Latvia,” Veryga said.

Losing the Christmas trade would be painful

Merchants meanwhile argue that there is no reason for the restrictions, as visitor flows have already halved, thus the requirement for a buyer to guarantee more than 10 m2. The meter area is executed with a pile.

Supermarket managers also seek the sympathy of the interim government in appealing to corporate difficulties that Christmas shopping would help solve.

Today, state support is especially important for businesses operating in shopping centers, and sales for the holiday period are an essential opportunity for some of them to survive, says R. Kalvaitienė.

“State support is especially important for supermarket companies right now, and holiday sales are an essential way for some to survive. Therefore, current decisions need to be weighed well,” says Rida Kalvaitienė, director of the services group. Asset Management Officer of Newsec, which manages the Vilnius Ozas, Kaunas Akropolis and Vilnius BIG shopping centers in the Baltic countries, it said in a press release.

Will accept more security guards and cleaners

However, the warning from the acting prime minister and the health minister has worked: some traders promise to take additional steps to manage the flows. It is true that there are not many.

Ina Augulienė, director of the Ozas shopping and leisure center 15 minutes stated that the expected 25%. increase the number of security and cleaning (disinfection) employees working in the supermarket.

“Additional security guards will help regulate the flow of visitors not only in the mall itself, but also in the tenants’ premises,” explained I. Augulienė, who promised to pay more attention to the supervision and information of the center’s tenants. commercial.

The number of security guards and others in other shopping centers is also increasing as the major holidays of the year approach. And the market manager of IKEA Lithuania, Jolita Juodzevičienė 15 minutes informed, that as of this weekend, more room personnel are working to help monitor the compliance of the distances.

Another innovation is that Oz will allow vehicles to park only second and thus limit the flow of cars in parking lots.

“We’ve been putting up signs everywhere this weekend asking us to keep a safe distance and park every second spot,” said Ozo’s manager.

Ozas will allow vehicles to park only in second place and thus limit the flow of cars into parking lots.

Meanwhile, Dominykas Mertinas, head of the communication department of Akropolis Group 15 minutes He stressed that the shopping center is installing 100,000. Equipment that automatically disinfects escalator and moving walk handrails and elevator car air with ultraviolet (UV) light.

An even bigger traffic management challenge for merchants will emerge in the run-up to the holidays. At that time, some supermarkets plan to return various measures applied in the spring: at each entrance, security guards will measure the temperature for each visitor to the supermarket.

“They will also ensure the correct use of visitor protection measures, remember the recommendation to disinfect hands, monitor visitor flows if they approach the safe limit of the number of visitors allowed in the shopping center,” said I. Augulienė.

Tighten control of tenants

The supermarkets, which house many individual stores, promise tighter oversight of how tenants manage the flow of visitors and even impose fines.

According to R. Kalvaitienė, the total flow of visitors to supermarkets has decreased, but the large number of visitors is a challenge for grocery stores, not for clothing, footwear or cosmetic retailers.

As a result, supermarkets are actively working with tenants to strengthen security, and Newsec is considering adding a number of requirements to tenant contracts and, if necessary, imposing penalties for non-compliance with internal center procedures.

Flows have dropped significantly

Traders say they disapprove of the proposed restrictions because customer flows have already fallen dramatically.

The Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association (LNTPA) estimates that the number of visitors to shopping malls has been cut by about half and the turnover of a separate category of goods and services has dropped to 60%.

“Both on weekends and on weekdays, the flows are still similar, we have not yet approached the maximum number of visitors. If the trends remain similar, we will probably not reach the maximum number allowed even just before Christmas, ”predicts I. Augulienė.

“Based on the analysis of customer flows, we see that since the introduction of the second quarantine in November, we have received almost 40 percent fewer buyers compared to the same period last year. The flow of visitors after the first quarantine in the spring has not yet recovered.

The current requirement that each buyer provide at least 10 m2 M. meters of area that we implement with a pile. We have established a much stricter internal limit, beyond which we would begin to restrict customer flows, but the analysis of visitor flows shows that it should not be exceeded in the near future ”, also commented D. Mertin.

The fact that you easily implement the requirement to provide 10 square meters M. meter. area per buyer, emphasizes all interviewed merchants.

“For example, a visitor to the Ozas shopping and leisure center currently has between 30 and 40 square meters. tide. For this reason, and at the same time for much less than 15 minutes. In our opinion, the risk of contact with other visitors or employees – the spread of the virus in supermarkets – remains relatively low ”, says I. Augulienė, manager of Ozo.

Rūta Vainienė, director of the Lithuanian Trade Association, also agrees with this view. According to her, the associations have not come to the knowledge to confirm at least one case of contagion of visitors at the points of sale.

OIAugulienė would also support an increase in area per visitor, for example 15 m2 M. m per person requirement.

Merchants: there are no reasons for restrictions

Supermarkets claim that customer flows have decreased as their habits have changed. I. Augulienė mentions that the visit time to the mall is significantly shortened, visitors no longer go in groups.

Also, with the closure of entertainment venues (sports clubs, movie theaters, family theme parks, and restaurants that only serve food), visitors go to supermarkets just to shop for a purpose and spend less and less time there.

Therefore, traders object that if supermarket opening hours are limited, it will only increase customer flows even more.

According to R.Vainienė, a fairly large flow of buyers, about 40 percent, will be redistributed to other times or other commercial places in case of restriction.

“Due to the regulation of flows, there will be queues, you may have to wait outside, in the current weather conditions, it is not the safest option. If buyers’ desire to buy does not diminish, we should think exactly in the opposite direction : how to distribute your flow over a longer period of time and over a larger area, ”said the dealer representative.

J. Juodzevičienė, the market director of IKEA Lithuania, also agreed that such a decision could also contribute, for example, to the gathering of people on other hours or working days.

“We believe it is essential to ensure that customers can choose between the longest possible working hours or more business days, thus reducing the possibility of clusters and allowing retail operators to manage traffic in the best possible way,” said a spokeswoman for IKEA.

What measures currently exist?

The LNTPA states that supermarkets still use a wide range of security measures: most supermarkets can only be entered through designated entrances and only if there is enough space inside, at least ten square meters per visitor, and the flows are monitored by vendors and security guards.

They also monitor the movement of buyers in the intended directions and remind pickers not to do so.

Although visitors who do not wear masks are hardly available in supermarkets anymore, security guards can offer free masks to everyone. Different centers wash common areas, stairs, handrails, door handles, stair and escalator handrails, seat backs, supports, ATM buttons, and other commonly touched areas with sanitizer every hour or two.

The separate centers are equipped with ultraviolet lamps that constantly disinfect the armrests of escalators and travelers. A system that cleans the air in the elevators should be operational by early December. Safety measures are constantly recalled on the radio from the centers: they are encouraged to keep their distance, sanitize their hands, plan their purchases in advance, and thus not remain on the premises.

In addition to all these measures, supermarkets have Class 7 air filters, which are used in hospitals and airports, they disinfect staff rooms and all bathrooms with certified lamps.