GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd which operates Giant, TMC, Cold Storage, Mercato, GEkspres and ShopSmart stores is introducing dedicated shopping hours across all its stores to help ensure that the elderly and other vulnerable groups get access to food and other essentials. The new initiative will begin this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday during the first hour of trading, and will be implemented across all stores nationwide.
GCH Retail has also designated special checkout lanes for this group of customers during normal operating hours to accommodate those who cannot shop during the dedicated hours. These measures were prompted by the recent spike in demand in supermarkets, which may have caused many elderly and vulnerable people in the community missing out on vital items they need.
On top of this move, GCH Retail has also implemented social distancing measures at the checkout lanes across all its stores. Floor markers have been placed at checkout areas to remind customers of the government-recommended distance to adhere to while waiting.
In addition, sanitising stations have been placed at the entrance and each cashier lane to for added hygiene precautions. GCH Retail also ensures frequent sanitisation of trolleys, baskets and cashier counters, and has also implemented customer temperature checks at the entrance.
Chris Bush, CEO of Southeast Asia Food, Dairy Farm Group said: “We are in unprecedented times with Covid-19 throughout the world. The well-being and safety of our customers is our number one priority.”
“As one of the few essential firms allowed to operate during the Movement Control Order, we are committed to ensuring our customers have access to items they need.
“We recognise that our stores are exceptionally busy during this difficult period and to support our most vulnerable customers, we are implementing a dedicated shopping time in our stores as well as dedicated checkout lanes at all times to ensure our more vulnerable customers get what they need.”
“We kindly request the support of all our customers to respect these measures, as we are all dependent on the kindness, understanding and compassion of each other to help us through these challenging times.” — March 25, 2020, Bernama
