Some of Malta’s largest chain stores say they could potentially lose thousands of euros because of the ongoing coronavirus which has impacted the flow of imports. 

Tal-Lira outlets import up to 80% of their stock from China, according to spokesperson Carmel Schembri. 

“Many of our supply factories have been closed since the Chinese New Year at the end of January. While we’ve now heard that some of them have re-opened since Monday, there is still uncertainty.” 

The company – which has nine branches in Malta and Gozo – says it is particularly anxious about its Easter stock. 

“We have ordered decorations and are hopeful they will get here on time, but even if one more thing goes wrong, we’re set to lose between €40,000 and €50,000,” Mr Schembri said.  

Tal-Lira says it deals with around six or seven suppliers in China and while not all are located in the city of Wuhan – which has been on lockdown for weeks – it is still impacting the company’s supply chain. 

“It seems our contacts in places like Shanghai get their stock from there. While we haven’t seen a dip in sales yet, we already know there will be a lot of disruption when it comes to summer stock,” Mr Schembri added. Tal-Lira has been told some of its stock – such as household items and beach supplies – is being held in quarantine in Singapore. 

“I’m not sure why any of our stock would be seen as a threat, but you have to let the Chinese government do its job,” he said.

Despite announcing this week that the number of new cases of the coronavirus is dropping every day, things are not fully operational yet in Hubei province – where Wuhan is located.

Sixty million people were told to stay at home for weeks, which meant they could not work in factories, so manufacturing slowed down or halted completely, which had an impact worldwide, including in Malta. 

Tal-Lira gets up to 80% of stock from China

Discount store JB Stores gets around 60% of its stock from China. 

“We ordered a last shipment of winter stock that still hasn’t arrived, so it’s unlikely that we will sell that this year and will have to store it until 2021,” a spokeswoman said. 

“We’re also expecting a delay when it comes to the delivery of our summer stock and will really feel the problem around April or May. We tried to look at getting similar stock from suppliers in Europe, but it was just too expensive. We are, of course, concerned about the pressure it will put on us later in the year, but there is only so much you can press your suppliers for information.” 

The management of giant local brand Homemate is also worried. 

 “We’ve ordered a lot of outdoor stock and barbeques ahead of summer, so we’re waiting to see if we will get them in time. 

“If it arrives late, or not at all, it will set us back for summer sales,” a spokeswoman said.

Postal service halted

Meanwhile, MaltaPost announced on Tuesday it had halted deliveries to China because most airlines were not flying to that country.

The virus is also having an impact on larger companies such as tech giant Apple. on Tuesday, it issued a statement saying its profits will be down for the first quarter of the year because stores around the world have not been able to get enough phones. 

“While our iPhone manufacturing partner sites are located outside Hubei – and while all of these facilities have reopened – they are ramping up more slowly than had anticipated,” Apple said. 

Apple Malta had no specific information on whether this will affect its Maltese customers.