DFI Retail group's stores reopen after the peak of the fifth wave

With the confirmed case of the fifth wave of the pandemic dropping in Hong Kong, DFI Retail Group said all of its Wellcome supermarkets and Mannings have resumed operations after service disruption. The group has also extended one of its ongoing campaigns to help the community amid the pandemic.

A spokesperson of DFI Retail Group told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that all Wellcome supermarkets and Mannings have resumed operations. The opening hours of some Mannings stores are slightly shortened to about 8 pm due to the overall reduction in traffic in the evening.

In early March, as the Hong Kong government was planning to roll out city-wide testing and the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases soared, citizens flocked to supermarkets to snap up fresh food and necessities. But many brands faced staff shortages and had to reduce service offerings, adding more pressure to the city's supply chain. For example, HKTVmall is known to deliver products within two days of the product order. However, the eCommerce platform admitted that they need at least two weeks or even more to deliver.

Apart from service resumption, as the pandemic is still impacting all walks of life in the city, Wellcome has extended its “Low Prices Locked” programme to at least the end of September. The price of a total of 800 products, including food items and daily necessities, will remain unchanged. “Low Prices Locked” is one of the initiatives that Wellcome has launched since the onset of the pandemic. DFI Retail Group said the programme is aimed at offering a convenient and enhanced shopping experience without worrying about the surge in prices.

“The fifth wave of COVID-19 outbreak has caused severe impact on cross-border supply chain and the overall operation of the business. Hence, the prices of food and daily essentials in Hong Kong experienced volatility, affecting the entire economy along with people's livelihoods," said Choo Peng Chee, CEO of DFI Retail North Asia.

"We will review the programme again in the coming months. Although the costs of transportation and raw material escalate, our price commitment to our customers will remain the same and we would shoulder the cost to minimise the effect of the pandemic," he added.

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