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UAFM joined the All-Ukrainian initiative “Let us work!”

As part of the all-Ukrainian initiative “Let us work!” On April 22, 2021, the President of UAFM, Volodymyr Patis, took part in a round table organized by the Federation of Employers of Ukraine to:

● discuss and approve the text of the appeal of representatives of various branches of business activity to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (draft statement is attached);

● develop a general action plan for the operation of the business during quarantine restrictions.

Comment by Sviatoslav Amelin, owner of MebelOk:

“Safety of furniture retail:

Attendance is much lower than grocery stores

Large areas and low attendance ensure the greater distance between people and safety

The importance of furniture retail for people in quarantine:

Due to the circumstances, people do not have access to such benefits as travel, recreation, they can suffer without new things. However, remote work and stay-at-home require the purchase of furniture for work (desk, chair) and the creation of a more comfortable environment (mattress, sofa, bed, chairs, etc.).

It is quite difficult to choose furniture only via the Internet. In the world, only 5-7% of furniture is purchased exclusively online, the rest requires customer contact with the offline store, so now the furniture market has fallen more than other areas that can work offline

International experience:

In many countries around the world, furniture stores do not close to lockdown, precisely because of the low risk of the spread of coronavirus, and also because the furniture is a necessity for people

Lack of state support:

Currently, there is no state support for furniture companies (our NACE did not receive compensation of UAH 8,000 last year), loans for furniture makers are not available, as most companies require collateral in the form of real estate”.

Comment by Nadiya Myshko, marketer of the Araks shopping centers

“We are a safe shopping area and care about the health and well-being of our visitors. To do this, all preventive measures are observed on the territory of the shopping center: the mandatory wearing of masks by visitors and staff, temperature screening at the entrance, antiseptics of premises and surfaces. ⠀

The number of visitors at points of sale in the furniture specifics does not exceed the allowable number per square meter (1500 visitors per day on weekdays up to 2000 people on weekends with a total shopping area of ​​27,000 sq m), which provides 100 sq m per visitor in any -what time of day

Significant reduction of orders in the small and medium business of the furniture industry due to the inability to conduct direct sales due to quarantine restrictions, as well as due to the need to save consumers.

Under these conditions, businesses are forced to significantly reduce the cost of goods in order to ensure their functioning, staff retention, payroll, and raft maintenance, and as a result, suffer significant losses.

As a result, a long period of work in this mode, unfortunately, will lead to large-scale closures and bankruptcy of such businesses, which hold the economy of our state”.

UAFM continues the dialogue with the government to normalize the work of furniture retail and the industry as a whole.

 

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