New type pneumonia
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, major food chains and other chains in China are increasingly taking temporary closures.
Among them, Starbucks, a major American coffee chain, said in a financial statement on Tuesday that more than half of its approximately 4,300 stores across China were closed.
The Starbucks store, located in a commercial facility in Beijing, had no people at all, and a notice was posted on the glass door at the entrance saying, "We will suspend business for a while to reduce the occurrence of illness."
In addition, a major chain of hot pots, which has about 600 stores in China, has stopped operating at all stores in China until the end of January, and will be open 24 hours a day during the Chinese New Year and the Chinese New Year holidays. Some major restaurant chains are temporarily closed.
The Chinese New Year holidays are the peak season for consumption, and the sales of the retail and restaurant businesses during the period last year amounted to about 16 trillion yen in Japanese yen for more than 1 trillion yuan, but the new coronavirus Spread of infection is also casting a shadow on consumption.
Discontinued operation at 130 UNIQLO stores
Fast Retailing, a leading clothing chain, has shut down approximately 130 stores, mainly in Hubei Province, China, where Wuhan City is home to many new coronavirus infections.
The company has suspended the operation of 17 UNIQLO stores in Wuhan from 23rd of this month due to the suspension of public transportation in Wuhan and the difficulty of employee attendance.
Since then, some local facilities have been closed due to requests from the local government, and the company has decided to suspend operations, mainly at stores in such facilities.
Fast Retailing has 750 stores in China, with 17% of stores closed.