Meanwhile, we spoke to Sri Lanka Retailers’ Association (SLRA) Chairman Hussain Sadique, who stated the industry was severely hit by the tragedy but was now in the process of recovering to its normal level.
“The loss is visible. People have not come and shopped, but it is now recovering. It is an unexpected improvement. The recovery is better than we expected.”
He added that the week following the Easter attacks was very dull for almost every industry including retail and a considerable loss was incurred during this period. However, he did not quantify the loss incurred by the retailers due to lack of data available at this point.
Sadique said that these attacks would have a short-term impact in retail sales but would not hinder the overall retail performance of 2019. However, he added that SLRA would take every possible measure to improve Sri Lanka’s retail industry.
