Industry body highlights areas of on-going concern.

 

Victorian retailers, including office products dealers with retail outlets, will need to carefully examine the state government’s ‘Roadmap to Recovery’ to avoid being “hamstrung” by restrictions.

 

The state's retail businesses seeking a chance to get back to business in the lead up to their busiest sales periods have been left disappointed, according to the National Retail Association (NRA). 

 

The NRA said the Victorian government has taken an “exceedingly cautious approach to reopening” – and while news that the lockdown will end at 70 per cent double vaccination, the constraints that will remain on businesses make opening almost untenable.

 

Dominique Lamb, CEO of the NRA, “We welcome a pathway to reopening the economy and living with COVID, but the restrictions that will remain on business will continue to hamstring the industry. 

 

“The impacts to staffing, regulating QR code check-ins, mask wearing, and vaccine passports, and having their stock out of doors – where there are environmental issues like sun damage and potential for shoplifting – doesn’t seem to have been considered in this approach,” she said.

 

The NRA said consideration needed to be given if there are to be further hygiene protocols implemented. 

 

“In this instance, retailers will need time to train their employees. In addition to this, whilst we support vaccination, we would be concerned if any there were any rules implemented which prevented customers from interacting with retailers based on whether they are vaccinated or not,” the NRA stated.