"Creating a Safe Environment" Distribution Industry Supports Quarantine for Small and Medium Partner Companies

Shinsegae Provides Full Disinfection Costs to 900 Partner Companies That Applied

Lotte Home Shopping Expands Support Scope After Disinfecting 60 Partner Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] The distribution industry is supporting disinfection for small and medium-sized partner companies facing business difficulties. Although the number of companies switching to remote work due to concerns about the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is increasing, this decision considers small partner companies for whom remote work is realistically difficult to implement.

Shinsegae Group announced on the 1st that it will provide full disinfection costs to companies that applied through the website among partner companies trading with Shinsegae Department Store and E-Mart. The number of eligible partner companies is about 400 for Shinsegae Department Store, about 500 for E-Mart, totaling approximately 900 companies. The application period is until the 15th of this month. In particular, disinfection support will be prioritized for workplaces located in Daegu and the Gyeongbuk region.

Shinsegae Department Store will focus disinfection support on small and medium-sized partner companies trading in food, daily necessities, and miscellaneous goods, especially those that find it difficult to conduct disinfection on their own due to business circumstances, such as side dish, dried seafood, tuna factories, and bedding partner companies. E-Mart will provide disinfection support targeting small and medium-sized partner company workplaces that supply E-Mart’s private label (PL) products such as No Brand and Peacock.

E-Mart24 and E-Mart Everyday also immediately conduct disinfection if a COVID-19 confirmed case visits a franchise store, with the head office covering all related costs.

Lotte Home Shopping is also providing emergency disinfection support to small and medium-sized partner companies. Lotte Home Shopping decided to support disinfection activities, judging that helping partner companies create a safe working environment is the most practical support. Accordingly, together with a professional disinfection company, it will prioritize disinfecting 60 partner companies in March and plans to expand the support scope later. Additionally, it plans to support partner companies in various ways by actively utilizing existing financial support policies such as the 200 billion KRW Win-Win Growth Fund and 10 billion KRW interest-free loans.

Lee Wan-shin, CEO of Lotte Home Shopping, said, "'COVID-19' is spreading rapidly, and in the process of seeking practical ways to help partner companies beyond simple financial support, we decided to support disinfection activities," adding, "We will continuously implement various win-win measures so that partner companies can operate their businesses stably while monitoring the situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.