CHINA. DFS hopes to reopen its seven stores in Macau soon as COVID-related business constraints in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) ease.
The travel retailer was forced to close its seven stores on 11 July in line with a COVID-related government order to shut most businesses, including casinos from 11 to 18 July, after a spike in cases that began on 18 June. The stores have remained closed since.
The situation is improving, however. According to the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, just two new local infections were reported on 24 July, preceded by none on 23 July and two the previous day. These figures are well down from the consistent double-digit spikes earlier in the month following the initial outbreak.
DFS will view the closures as only a temporary set-back. Its confidence in the Macau market is underlined by the fact that it will open two more stores in the SAR before year-end.
The early July edict represented the first closure of casinos – vital to Macau’s tourism and travel retail sectors – since the early days of the pandemic in February 2020. Essential services, including Macau International Airport, remained open.
According to GGR Asia, a specialist media title for Asia’s gaming industry, most Macau casinos reopened on Saturday 23 July with limited operations in line with COVID-19 measures. Business volumes are depressed due to travel restrictions constraining the number of Mainland visitors, the report noted.
GGR Asia reported that the period 23-29 July is part of what the Macau Government calls a ‘consolidation’ phase in terms of the current outbreak. Most businesses deemed non-essential are being allowed to reopen. Such a phase might extend to another week after that, the report said.
“Tourist volumes for reopened facilities are expected to remain low as, for now, there will be no easing of current travel rules between neighbouring Nainland China city Zhuhai and Macau, according to the authorities,” GGR Asia said.
