Lockdown wreaks havoc on traders’ Valentine’s Day plans

Victorian traders have been dealt a massive blow, with lockdown scuppering plans for one of the busiest retail days of the year.

Florists have surplus stock with lockdown scuppering Valentine’s Day plans. Picture: Alex Coppel.

There won’t be much love in the air this Valentine’s Day for traders, with a five-day lockdown coinciding with one of the busiest retail days of the year.

Mornington florist Michael Dimech said his business Flower Girls and Co had five times the regular amount of stock “ready to go”.

“We need all those blokes who normally leave things to the last minute to think ahead and buy flowers now,” Mr Dimech said.

“There is the option of online orders and we are set up for that … but a lot of customers leave it to the last minute and come in on the day to pick their flowers.

“That’s probably not going to be an option [with] hard lockdown with restrictions on how far people can travel from home.”

Anna Jabour, CEO of Flower Industry Australia, said the lockdown would have a devastating effect on florists.

“The Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day together make it one of the busiest times of year for florists,” she said.

“The snap lockdown may be necessary, however it was disappointing that there was no consideration given to florists in the decision making.

“Flowers are a fresh, perishable item and the financial burden this will have on our industry shouldn’t be dismissed or understated.

“I really encourage Victorians to order online through your local florist and support them through this snap lockdown.”

Chief executive officer of Restaurant and Catering Australia, Wes Lambert, said lockdowns would “have a disastrous effect” on businesses.

“Especially as we go into Valentine’s Day weekend, which is not only traditionally one of the busiest days for hospitality, but also in this unique year it is falling on a weekend … which was a lifeline for the industry, but that lifeline could now be busted,” he said.

“It would also affect countless numbers of weddings and private events.”

Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra says the latest lockdown restrictions are a devastating blow for Victorian retailers

“They’ve been through so much in the past year, and have done their best to return to an even footing in recent months. Unfortunately, some of the horrors of 2020 continue, “ he says.

“We certainly hope the Victorian health authorities get on top of this quickly and that this lockdown doesn’t drag out for longer than it needs to.”

He says last minute Valentine’s Day shopping will be curtailed and romantic dinner date plans have been dashed. That’s a massive blow for restaurants who would have been fully booked for one of their busiest nights of the year.”

Mr Zahra says we have to learn to live with Covid and manage things in a responsible way without devastating business and livelihoods.

“It’s time to have consistency from state and territory governments when it comes to Covid restrictions. At the moment, businesses are at the mercy of the different approaches from the various Premiers with very little planning time around what the latest restrictions mean.

“The uncertainty and confusion around ‘trigger points’ has been a confidence killer and one of the key lessons out of this pandemic is to have a nationally consistent approach, with clear criteria, so business can at least operate with some sort of certainty.

“The vaccines can’t come soon enough, but even when they’re rolled out we’ll still be living with Covid for some time, so the existing challenges will remain for retail.”

Shelly Paxton, a florist affected by the lockdown, with all her flowers at Whittlesea Flowers and Bears, in Whittlesea. Picture: Alex Coppel.

REGIONS HIT HARD

Chamber of Commerce Be Bendigo CEO Dennis Bice said he expected many appeals for help from Bendigo region businesses over the coming days.

“Everything has been thrown into chaos,” Mr Bice said.

“It’s a challenge were used to.”

He said the restaurants and wedding venues preparing for Valentine’s Day would be some of the hardest hit by the five day lockdown.