Philippine retailers experiencing coronavirus-related sales slump

The Philippines’ largest retail landlord SM Supermalls says retailers’ sales have dropped both at home and in China due to the coronavirus crisis.

According to ABS-CBN, local sales of the group fell by 10-20 percent in the first few weeks of the coronavirus outbreak as people avoid shopping and eating out in the Philippines for fear of exposure.

In Mainland China, where SM operates malls, sales have slipped by up to 50 percent in tenant’s stores.

At the same time, other Philippine retailers have witnessed a 30-50 percent decline across the “total retail environment”, according to Roberto Claudio, vice chairman of the Philippine Retailers Association.

“That drop will go down into billions (of pesos) in terms of lost sales and revenues,” said Claudio. “If this goes on toward the end of the year, it is going to be devastating for most retailers and malls.”

The Philippines has confirmed three coronavirus cases, all visitors from Wuhan City in the central province of Hubei.