Suppliers of stationery products for 'business use' to remain open.

 

Officeworks stores in and around Melbourne will be closed to the general public for six weeks under tough new stay-at-home rules announced by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

 

While Officeworks and other major retailers were allowed to open their doors in the state’s previous COVID-19 lockdown, the state government has decreed that they shut up shop to the general public except for click-and-collect services.

 

However, "as a specialist supplier of stationery and printing services", Officeworks stores can continue to service business customers but are closed to in-store retail customers. Newsagencies and post offices are allowed to remain open.

 

Officeworks has around 20 outlets in the metropolitan area of Melbourne, including the world’s largest office supplies store at Mentone (pictured).

 

Retailers working on site for the purposes of fulfilling online orders will also be able to continue to operate and contactless click-and-collect will be allowed with strict safety protocols in place.

 

Hardware chain Bunnings, owned by Officeworks’ parent Wesfarmers, will keep its doors open but only for registered trades persons.

 

Earlier this week, Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider appealed to authorities for the continued service of Officeworks and other retailers.

 

Schneider told The Australian: “With businesses like Officeworks, you are going to be running your classrooms and your offices from home so that requires lights, that requires tables, it requires power cords and cleaning products. And we play an important role in taking pressure off the supermarkets because we actually supply a range of products that overlap in those cleaning products so we spread the load between supermarkets and others.”

 

Manufacturing short list

 

Among the manufacturing sectors that can continue to operate with a 'COVID-safe plan' are printing, paper products and computers and support services.