THAILAND. King Power International has implemented a series of measures to reassure customers that it is minimising the risk of infection from Coronavirus.
The company is the biggest travel retailer in Thailand, with key airport concessions and downtown duty free stores including its King Power Rangnam and Sriwaree complexes in Bangkok which are magnets for Chinese tourists.
As a result, King Power has been contacted by concerned potential shoppers about the risks of becoming infected at its stores. The retailer has been proactive in responding to those concerns to allay fears.
On Twitter, on Sunday, the company told two users that it has been spraying its stores to kill virus particles, with its Rangnam and Sriwaree complexes completed, and its Phuket complex and Phuket Airport stores scheduled to have been sprayed by yesterday. In addition, all public-facing staff are required to wear masks, principally to protect them from exposure. It is also encouraging all customers to wear masks.
Some Thais have taken to Twitter to list places to avoid – mostly tourist destinations popular with the Chinese, but which also include duty free malls. One message got 1,300 likes and 4,500 retweets, showing the level of concern among the public despite only eight confirmed cases of the virus in Thailand (scroll to see map from 27 January) as of Monday.
However, there are more than 4,400 cases in Mainland China of which at least 2,700 are in Hubei Province whose capital is Wuhan.
Yesterday, in response to the tweets, King Power noted (above) that it has added service points where customers can use hand-washing gels and said that it was “preparing to upgrade the measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic”.
In more detailed replies today about beauty testers, King Power said: “We have taken into consideration the cleanliness of testers (and have) replaced (them) with new sets.” The company then went on to explain that the new testers were regularly sprayed with alcohol and wiped with clean tissue paper. It has also implemented specific procedures for testing lipsticks, creams and powders.
Bangkok is a top tourist destination for Chinese travellers all year round, and the number one destination from Wuhan by a significant margin.
