Call to ban unvaccinated from shopping centres

Retail billionaire Solomon Lew has called for a ban on the unvaccinated in the nation’s shopping centres when lockdowns end.

Retail billionaire Solomon Lew has called for a ban on the unvaccinated in the nation’s shopping centres when lockdowns end and strict temperature checks for all shoppers on entry.

The man behind Premier Investments, which owns some of the nation‘s best known brands including Smiggle, Dotti, Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Peter Alexander and Jacqui E, has warned parents will want that peace of mind before they return to malls with their kids.

And he’s said any failure to do so could make families reluctant to hit the shops for Christmas shopping if they feared catching Covid-19, especially with younger, unvaccinated children.

“People have to be vaccinated and people have to be temperature checked,” Mr Lew said.

“We need to protect our staff and our customers.

“It is really for the government to get together with the mall owners and say, listen here fellas, this is how it is going to work, people have to be vaccinated and people have to be temperature checked. The mall owners have to take more responsibility.”

If the shopping malls themselves ban the unvaccinated, that will take the pressure off individual retailers.

Shopping centres should deny entry to the unvaccinated, billionaire retailer Solomon Lew has said. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

Shoppers walk through the Bondi Junction shopping strip in Sydney’s East. Picture: Toby Zerna

Shoppers are expected to return in their droves to malls when the lockdown is lifted in Victoria, NSW and Canberra.

In NSW, retailers may be able to reopen as early as October 11 if the state reaches its 70 per cent double-vaccination target.

But Mr Lew has warned that recovery could be stymied if families fear catching Covid at shopping centres with their unvaccinated, younger children.

“First of all we need to protect our customers and you need to make it a safe place to shop, families are coming, mum, dad, the kids, grandparents coming into a big seasonal shopping time,” Mr Lew told The Australian newspaper.

“The mall owners have to take more responsibility, they are the ones that are letting people into centres so at the entry point there should be a check, they have to be safe.

Soloman Lew has warned that recovery could be stymied if families fear catching Covid at shopping centres. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

“Our strong preference is with the government mandate, that all persons entering the mall be vaccinated and checked for temperature as well and that should take place at the point of access.

“The centre owners have an absolute responsibility to ensure the venues are not only safe for the entire family for the shopping experience but they ensure our retail staff will have nothing to fear from trying to earn a living working in retail stores.

“That’s why I use the analogy, I’m not sure if I would go in a food court and without knowing everybody there (is checked) so that I’m in a safe place.”

Mr Lew wants the NSW and Victorian governments to release clear guidelines on who is allowed to shop when non-essential retailers reopen next month and how shopping centres and retailers should deal with non-vaccinated customers.

“I think it’s going to be a problem unless the governments work with shopping centre groups to make sure shopping centres are safe,” he said.