Store owners in Limassol and Paphos shopping malls are in dire straits following local lockdowns enforced there on 13 November.
Speaking to the daily Phileleftheros, Retail Association general secretary Marios Antoniou said that these businesses are under grave financial strain as they will need to remain closed to the public until the end of the month as per the relevant government decree to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the two districts.
“Shop owners, especially those in fashion and those selling Christmas items are concerned because they have already received and paid for their stock and it’s still on the shelves,” Antoniou said.
He explained that for shop owners, the month of December is by far the busiest of the entire year.
“We already lost Easter to the first lockdown. For stores, December is like July and August for hotels,” he said, expressing the hope that the stringent measures enforced bear fruit given the “incalculable” costs for businesses should they be extended beyond the end of November.
Antoniou further stressed the urgency of finding a solution to the pressing matter of rents which has been pending since the first lockdown.
“There are still outstanding rents from the March lockdown. The question is how those will be settled since there was no income during that time,” he noted.
He said, finally, that shop owners in Limassol and Paphos will try to boost sales upon reopening on 1st December through offers and large discounts to mitigate lockdown losses.
