Spain’s ABC daily reported that after the COVID-19 epidemic eased, the Spanish government began to adopt four stages of lifting the blockade to gradually resume economic activities. However, in order to avoid the epidemic from expanding again, the gradual opening measures adopted strict restrictions. , On the contrary, it has become an obstacle to the recovery of the retail industry.
According to the Spanish government gazette issued on May 9, retailers must not only control the number of people in their stores, but also prohibit physical stores from holding special sales and price reductions to avoid large crowds gathering. , but this regulation allows online platforms to hold special sales activities. For retailers, special sales and price reductions are an excellent sales channel to clear out unsaleable inventory caused by the two-month national alert state. Therefore, the restrictive measures have been criticized by many in the retail industry.
The Spanish Association of Large Enterprise Wholesale (ANGED) stated that during the COVID-19 epidemic, people’s movements were restricted, retail stores were closed, and online sales platforms such as Amazon or Alibaba and others have benefited from this, with online sales increasing significantly. After the commercial ban was lifted, shopping mall retailers have complied with all health and safety regulations and strictly controlled the number of people allowed in physical stores, so the restrictive measures lacked substantial meaning.
The Spanish Textile Enterprises Association (ACOTEX) also pointed out that the regulations are full of contradictions, and the restriction of special sales activities in physical stores will once again increase the competitiveness of online sales platforms, and retailers will face Bigger losses, especially for small retailers.
ANGED estimates that due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, retail market demand will decline by 50% in 2020, and sales may decrease by more than 25 billion euros. Although it is currently open for business activities, but large stores with an area of more than 400 square meters still have to wait until May 25 to resume operations. ANGED said that if large stores do not open, about 5,000 job opportunities will be lost. Therefore, they hope that the government will agree to allow physical stores with an area of more than 400 square meters to resume operations. Restore business as soon as possible.
