Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 25) – One of the country’s well-known local clothing retailer has assured its customers of their stores’ safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan Lim, one of the owners of Suyen Corporation which supplies the Bench clothing brand, shared their stores are now using ultraviolet lights to disinfect items touched by customers.
Lim noted Bench and other clothing stores under the Suyen umbrella are still not accepting returns for safety reasons.
“We do not accept returns. We also utilize UVC lights to disinfect items that might be returned in the event that we have no choice but to accept it,” said Lim.
In their salons, Lim said they will be using dividers and observe strict physical distancing protocols to further avert the spread of the virus. They also provided UV sterilizers for the salon equipment that will be used.
“The salon industry is lobbying that we should open. Of course, (we will observe) safe distancing of people from one meter to two meters apart,” he added.
The Department of Trade and Industry announced last week it is mulling the possibility of allowing hair salons and barber shops in areas with loosened restrictions to spur economic activities.
Under the updated guidelines on community quarantine released last Saturday by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, salons and barber shops are allowed to operate a maximum of 50 percent of its venue capacity only if an area is placed under modified general community quarantine.
Lim emphasized that despite the two-month suspension of business operations due to the government-imposed lockdown, they are still having sales among their products.
He highlighted their hand sanitizers were heavily sold and there was a strong demand in online orders on their undergarments, homeware, and sleepwear products.
“I guess they can’t reuse their old clothes too much anymore because they also want to proudly feel good at home in spite of the pandemic that’s happening,” noted Lim.
Lim also reported they donated hand sanitizers to frontliners of the COVID-19 crisis.
Lim appealed to the national government to intensify its contact tracing efforts, which may start in any of their clothing stores.
“We need to be able to ensure the government that we are also able to contact trace in the event that there are consumers that might be infected and we need contact tracing. We need to assure them that we could cooperate with local government units and proper authorities,” he said.
