LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Retailers in Wales have written
urgently to First Minister Mark Drakeford expressing alarm over
new regulations that restrict the sale of "non essential"
products in essential shops during the country's two-week
COVID-19 lockdown.
Wales' "fire-break" begins on Friday at 1700 GMT and ends on
Nov. 9. Everybody but essential workers will have to work from
home. All non-essential retail, leisure, hospitality and tourist
businesses will have to close.
Retailers that can stay open, such as supermarkets, were
told on Thursday that the regulations require them to only sell
what the Welsh government deems to be "essential" product lines,
partly to protect smaller businesses that do have to close being
put at an unfair advantage.
Supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsbury's,
Asda and Morrisons, which are all big sellers of
clothing, immediately scrambled to adapt their stores to focus
on food.
However, retailers are perplexed because no definition of an
essential product has been forthcoming from government.
In a letter to Drakeford, the Labour leader of the devolved
government which has responsibility for health and sometimes
finds itself at odds with the Conservative government in London,
the Welsh Retail Consortium and the Association of Convenience
Stores called for a rethink of the plan.
The trade bodies also requested an urgent meeting.
"Compelling retailers to stop selling certain items, without
them being told clearly what is and what isn't permitted to be
sold, is ill-conceived and short-sighted," said Sara Jones, head
of the Welsh Retail Consortium.
James Lowman, Chief Executive of the Association of
Convenience Stores, said the regulations were badly thought out.
"Retailers must not be forced to stop making products
available to customers just because ministers don't think
they're essential," he said.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Tesco (TSCO)
Sainsbury's (SBRY)