Commerce serves all customers – a strong plea to use masks

Finnish Commerce Federation and the Finnish Grocery Trade Association continue to urge their customers to always wear protective masks when visiting stores. The guidelines also concern employees.

Nonetheless, imposing a mask mandate for customers is problematic. Not everyone can wear masks due to health reasons, for example. It is difficult in practice to monitor why some customers do not wear masks in stores. Processing health information is challenging due to reasons of privacy protection.

“We appeal to all of our customers: please wear a mask if it is at all feasible. We all are now responsible for making it safe for everyone to visit stores and work in them,” say Managing Directors Mari Kiviniemi from the Finnish Commerce Federation and Kari Luoto from the Finnish Grocery Trade Association.

“Food is a necessity that everyone must have access to. The commerce sector wants to serve its customers, and for reasons of security of supply it is also obliged to offer necessary goods to everyone,” Kari Luoto reminds.

Since early October 2020, the commerce sector has recommended all customers over the age of 12 to wear masks. Many other proactive and highly effective measures have also been implemented since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, stores have not been a source of any extensive chains of infections.

Stores maintain good hygiene and have intensified their cleaning. Different methods, such as announcements, posters, info displays and floor stickers are used to remind customers of safety measures. People are urged to maintain a distance of two metres to others and, since early April 2020, customers have been provided the opportunity to wash hands and use hand sanitiser.

“Commerce is making enormous and varied efforts to make it safe to visit all stores. Communications regarding the necessity to wear a mask is important and we recommend increasing it further,” says Mari Kiviniemi.

For further information, please contact: 

Mari Kiviniemi, Managing Director, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 (0)50 511 3189, mari.kiviniemi(at)kauppa.fi

Kari Luoto, Managing Director, Finnish Grocery Trade Association, tel. +358 (0)40 068 8708, kari.luoto(at)pty.fi

Safety instructions for customers:

• Do not visit any stores when sick or if you are in quarantine even without any symptoms
• Use a face mask
• Maintain good hand, coughing and sneezing hygiene
• Maintain a safety distance of more than two metres to store staff and other customers
• Visit stores purposefully and with a group as small as possible

The Finnish Commerce Federation represents commerce—the largest sector of economic life. Commerce employs around 270,000 persons in Finland. The Finnish Commerce Federation represents both retail and wholesale commerce in industry politics and labour market lobbying. www.kauppa.fi

The Finnish Grocery Trade Association (PTY) is a lobbyist for the grocery trade, department store trade and Foodservice wholesale trade in industrial and social policy-making processes. Companies in the sector employ directly and indirectly a total of more than 80,000 people and invest hundreds of millions of euros into Finland annually. Members of PTY include Heinon Tukku Oy, Kesko Corporation, The K-Retailers’ Association, Lidl Suomi Ky, Minimani Yhtiöt Oy, M Itsenäiset Kauppiaat Oy, R-kioski Oy, SOK Corporation, Suomen Palvelutukkurit Oy, Tokmanni group and Wihuri Oy. www.pty.fi