Uncertain times in Southeast Asia

Thanks to pet owners rushing to stock up on vital pet products, Nimanja was able to buck the trend of falling sales figures among retailers in the region. "We managed to achieve the highest sales so far in our group of companies in both Brunei and Malaysia in March," Nimanja managing director Anderson Lim told PET worldwide.
On 15 March, Brunei prohibited its citizens from leaving the country. The Sultanate also banned mass gatherings and eating in restaurants, as well as preventing foreigners from entering the country. For its part, Malaysia issued a movement control order, meaning that people were only permitted to leave their homes for essential purposes, such as food shopping.
The Nimanja retail group was the subject of reports on social media channels that an employee who previously had contact with a coronavirus patient had appeared in one of the Brunei stores. "We explained in two statements on 12 and 18 March that safety precautions had been taken to protect both employees and customers from the virus," says Anderson Lim. All stores were disinfected on a daily basis, social distancing rules were put in place and hand sanitiser and thermometers were made available. Staff members were also instructed to wear face masks and gloves.

Immediately after the introduction of coronavirus social distancing rules in Brunei, Nimanja saw a big increase in people shopping for pet food and cat litter in particular. It was a different picture at Miri in Malaysia, as the authorities there initially set no clear guidelines as to whether pet stores would be allowed to remain open. It only became clear on 25 March that Nimanja would be able to operate normally.
Despite the unprecedented demand, Nimanja had sufficient stocks. By chance, the company had topped up its inventories for an entirely different reason - the opening of a store in Miri and two new outlets in Brunei. The third store in Miri opened on 12 January. In Brunei, Nimanja opened a fourth store on 15 February and a fifth store on 9 March, shortly before the coronavirus outbreak. "The goods arrived in Brunei just in time to satisfy consumer demand," comments Anderson Lim.

Anderson Lim no longer anticipates any supply problems, but has concerns about getting manufacturers' products to the market…