Making Malaysian’s second homes safe once more with Nippon Paint VirusGuard

As the number of COVID-19 cases remain at 4 digits, the community at large is encouraged to stay at home to minimise the spread of COVID-19 within communities. However, with people staying at home and are encouraged to make arrangements to work from home, the economy is deeply impacted and businesses such as brick-and-mortar retail, F&B establishments and hotels bear the brunt, risking the livelihoods of Malaysians working in the industry.

However, businesses that were in operation had to take on additional costs to adhere to the strict SOPs implemented by the Ministry of Health including the availability of sanitizers, regular sanitisation and frequent cleaning of premises. 

According to statistics from the Malaysia Retailers Association (‘MRA’), retail sales saw a sharp decline of 30.9% during the initial phase of the MCO from April to June 2020.

This current ongoing wave of the pandemic affected even the biggest of retail players in the industry, brands that have been in the market for decades, to trending retailers have not been spared. According to recent insights from the Malaysian Shopping Mall Association (‘PPK’), to manage costs effectively during this challenging period, businesses have had to engage in cost cutting measures such as downsizing the number of stores, retrenchment of employees, and transitioning the brick-and-mortar business model to the e-commerce space. Though business recovery takes time to turnaround, it is also important for businesses to actively restore consumer confidence, by alleviating their concerns for safety and health risks whilst out and about in the mall when the time is right.

Various shopping malls in Malaysia have reported incidences of COVID-19 positive cases in the past month, which directly impacted the overall customer footfall to shopping malls and other public areas, due to fears and anxiety of being at risk to infection. Despite having stringent SOPs in place, including regular sanitization of common areas, limited points of entry, temperature checks, physical distancing measures and compulsory wearing of masks in public spaces, Malaysians at large still express concern.

With the spike in cases and new clusters, how can malls restore consumer confidence amongst tenants, business owners and shoppers, when one’s health and safety is at risk? 

Reviving safer public spaces for Malaysians

While strict SOPs are put into place to minimise the spread of the virus, long term measures will be highly effective in creating a safer space for the community, including tenants, staff, business owners and shoppers. Additional measures that can be taken into consideration is the repainting of walls with the recently launched Nippon Paint VirusGuard, particularly in high-traffic and tight common areas such as carparks, main entrances and walkways. It is with little wonder that walls at malls are the largest surface areas which allows for the widespread transmission of bacteria and viruses, aside from being high touch point areas such as elevator buttons, handrails, and doorknobs.

Walls also pose to be amongst one of the largest high-risk surfaces for viruses and bacteria to accumulate as individuals inadvertently come into close contact with walls, especially while out and about in public spaces. More often than not, common situations create the risk of spread of bacteria and viruses such as sneezing in the toilet or even when unintentionally leaning against walls while waiting.

“Spending time at malls during the weekends is an activity that most Malaysians used to enjoy. It is an activity that is deeply embedded within our culture and society. However, this is now hindered by the consequences of the pandemic due to safety risks, which has led to a negative impact on businesses at large. With the aim of creating a safer community for everyone to enjoy, this current situation is a call for us to take charge of our environmental safety and wellness, in ensuring the premises we frequent are well-kept and cleaned to further mitigate the risk of spread of viruses and bacteria. We need to do all we can to restore consumer confidence on this front,” commented Datin Wong Meng Lee, General Assistant Manager of Marketing, Nippon Paint Malaysia.

Without safety measures being taken on large surfaces such as walls, there is a heighted risk that accumulated bacteria and viruses may be airborne and impact the overall wellbeing of the community.

Equipped with anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties, Nippon Paint VirusGuard is lab-tested to be 99% effective against the human coronavirus (strain 229E). Utilising the Silver Ion Technology, Nippon Paint VirusGuard is also effective in inhibiting the spread of viruses and bacteria such as the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), influenza A (H1N1), Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, when in contact with the paint film. 

Lab-tested to be safe for adults, children and even animals, the Silver Ion Technology prevents the spread of viruses and bacteria through a three-step approach. The Silver Ion Technology works by destroying or deactivating the respective membranes or cell wall, depending on the structure of the various bacteria and viruses it causes them to be non-functional and eventually death of the respective viruses and bacteria cells.

With such additional precautionary safety measures in place and shoppers abiding by the strict health and safety SOPs set by tenants, consumer confidence will slowly but surely be revived throughout malls. Though it will take time to flatten the curve, the increase in consumer confidence consequently leads to building a steady flow of traffic in malls and thus resulting in a positive impact on the sales growth of tenants and retailers alike.

Creating safer communities for the betterment of everyone during this challenging time, Nippon Paint has recently embarked on its #RuangSelamat initiative to our community of frontliners in hospitals and the property management sector. In efforts to further flatten the curve and to uplift the health and wellbeing of the communities that we operate it, Nippon Paint has contributed over 600 litres of Nippon Paint VirusGuard to Property Management agencies in Malaysia and over 1,000 litres of anti-viral and anti-bacterial paint to Hospital Sungai Buloh.

For more information on Nippon Paint VirusGuard, please visit: https://www.nipponpaint.com.my/virusguard/keepingeveryonesafe