Mohamed Khattab, E-Commerce Director at B-Tech, has stated that the repercussions of coronavirus on the Egyptian retail sector might outweigh health damages.
Khattab noted that the investment climate requires clarity in order to put long-term and medium-term future plans, nonetheless, coronavirus might compel firms to change plans.
China, the world’s second-biggest economy, was stung in January by the coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan province and has spread throughout the country. The impact of the outbreak on the prices of goods and products would be clear in April.
The decline of oil prices might quickly return balance to prices in case Chinese factories resumed operations, Khattab added. Manufacturing activity in China declined in Feb. to the least level so far, based on Saturday’s results of the Purchasing Managers Index.
Analysts told AFP that only one-quarter of workers returned to their jobs. In an attempt to urge workers to return, the company rented buses to give them a ride.
During a press conference on Monday to announce developments of the Egyptian retail sector and future outlook, Khattab noted that the B-Tech targets increasing sales by 28 percent to EGP6.96 billion (USD445 million) in 2020.
Yet, he affirmed that these expectations don’t tackle the impact of coronavirus on the Egyptian economy.
B-Tech is the exclusive agent of several global brands in Egypt and one of the biggest retail sector companies in Egypt. Dbi Innovations (UK) Limited owns 33.3 percent of it.
Khattab added that the second half of 2019 witnessed a severe slowdown in selling and purchasing, which caused a drop in prices by around 5 to 7 percent. An additional 5 percent drop is also expected this year.
