Scentre Group acknowledges the recent statements by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, that shopping centres are ‘essential activities’ and will remain open for normal trade. Other landlords have also issued statements to their customers that they will trade as usual following the ruling of no indoor venues should hold more than 100 visitors or guests. Extra precautions for sanitisation, cleaning and social distancing have been put in place.
Under the current Government guidelines, shopping centres do not fall under the ‘mass gathering’ restrictions and remain fully open for business and normal trading hours apply.
Scentre Group CEO Peter Allen said: “Our Westfield centres, which include supermarkets, grocery stores, food markets and retail stores are an essential part of the Australian community and, as the Prime Minister has stated today, play an important role in assisting our community as it works through the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All our Westfield centres remain open for trade and we acknowledge their importance in delivering goods and services to the community as well as supporting employment and economic activity across the nation. We will continue to manage and operate our centres to ensure the wellbeing of our customers and retail partners. This includes a heightened focus on high standards of cleanliness and hygiene”, he said.
“We are also working with our retail partners as they manage their business through this volatile period. We will continue to engage with the government and relevant health authorities to ensure that our centres fulfil their role in providing essential goods and services to the community whilst taking the necessary health precautions”, Allen said.
“We ask customers to go about their day-to-day activities in our centres in a considerate and respectful way as outlined by the Prime Minister today”, he continued.
This statement follows on from the SCCA response earlier this week, when Allen said the shopping centre industry is taking necessary precautions and following relevant health advice to support their people and customers in response to COVID-19 whilst balancing business continuity for the local community and broader economy.
To improve access for customers most in need, Woolworths Supermarkets has introduced temporary measures across its stores to help support the shopping needs of the elderly and people with disability in the community. From Tuesday 17th March, Woolworths Supermarkets will be opening exclusively for the elderly and those with a disability to shop from 7am to 8am, where permitted.
The move has been prompted by the unprecedented demand in supermarkets over the past week, which has seen many elderly and vulnerable people in the community missing out on vital items they may need when they shop. Woolworths Supermarkets will open to all customers from 8am. Access to the store prior to this time will require a relevant Government issued concession card.
Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters said: “While we’ll continue to do our very best to restock our stores during this period of unprecedented demand, we know many of our elderly customers have been missing out on essential items when they shop.”
“This temporary measure will give them, and those with a disability, the opportunity to shop before our stores officially open – helping them obtain the essential items they need most in a less crowded environment. We continue to encourage all Australians to be mindful of those in our communities who might need extra help at this time. Now – more than ever – we need to be kind to each other, especially to those most vulnerable. We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused by the revised opening hours”, she said.
The move follows the announcement last week that Woolworths Supermarkets had begun working with Meals on Wheels in New South Wales, via their network of volunteers, to help deliver toilet paper directly to the elderly in the community.
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Vicinity Centres also released a statement regarding its approach to COVID-19, with the health, safety and wellbeing of its customers, retailers, team members and the wider community remaining its highest priority. Steps Vicinity Centres is taking include:
Taking additional precautions at our centres
We have brought together a dedicated team from across our business to respond to COVID-19, prepare our business and put in place appropriate measures to protect the wellbeing of our community.
We want the community to feel confident to go about their everyday activities including shopping for essentials, and we have been taking extra precautions to ensure our centres are clean and hygienic. This includes more frequent cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces and areas such as bathrooms, play areas, food courts and seating areas, lift buttons, handles and rails. We have also placed hand sanitisers in key areas at our centres, including at entrances and amenities for public use and are encouraging proper hygiene with clear signage for our customers, in line with government recommendations.
Regular updates for our team, customers, retailers and business partners
We are ensuring our teams, retailers, suppliers and business partners are supported with proactive customer communications in our centres to be able to respond quickly to events, and assure customers that shopping centres remain safe places to visit and transact.
We continue to actively monitor and act on all health and travel advice issued by the Australian Government and health departments. For our teams, this includes self-quarantine periods for all team members returning from international travel and putting in place work from home arrangements for our employees throughout our offices.
Together with our retailers, we continue to work together to ensure that visitors to our centres have the safest environment while providing the products and services that our communities need and want right now.
We will continue to provide our community with updates as the situation develops, and we thank you for your support during this time.
