SET TV Interview: Covid’s Impact on Asian Businesses
Taiwan’s SET TV (三立台灣台) features D-Square and Winseng Books & Gifts in its reporting on how Covid has impacted Asian Businesses in Houston.
Compared to Asia, US’s federal and state governments were slow in the beginning coming out with pandemic measures. In March 2020, Houston introduced its (first and only) mandatory shut down where retails could not open for several weeks and restaurants could only do take-out. To survive, the restaurant businesses had to evolve and adapt, with take-out orders assuming a majority part of their revenue.
Now, a year later, with the roll-out of mass vaccination, economy and crowds have returned.
How Winseng Overcomes the Covid Challenges
Other than the one month of mandatory closure, Winseng Books & Gifts has open daily throughout the pandemic. The business drew traffic with its diverse goods and services: household items, children books, lifestyle gadgets, entertainment games, and Chinese herbs/medicine.
Many elders who rely on physical newspaper as the source of news, visited daily to pick up a newspaper. With increased time spent at home, many bought lifestyle gadgets (foot spa bucket, acupuncture rollers), entertainment (mahjong table, Chinese DVD movies), and home decorations (art pieces and posters). For home-bound customers, Winseng would also sent them their Chinese herbs and medicines via mail.
Where Winseng differs and surpasses, according to its owner, Mrs Chan, is that they go out of the way for their customers. “We care; we become their friends with our customers; we do what we can to help them. That is why they keep coming back. We help each other through the pandemic.”
How D-Square Rises from the Pandemic
Shopping centers, globally, had been badly hit by the pandemic. During this pandemic, D-Square started and completed a large scale renovation project: the entire shopping center facade was transformed; spaces re-designed; technology incorporated; old pavement replaced by new concrete; a new iconic tower facade built; and a new lifestyle zone introduced with a skyroof, plants, outdoor string lights and rest areas. Extensive sanitary measures were put in place, with touchless hand sanitizer stations set up throughout the shopping center and rigid daily cleaning. Security was also enhanced given the worsened economy, with 2 live monitoring stations set up in the north and south parking lots.
D-Square’s director, Ms Wong, concluded, “There are elements in this world we can’t control; so we focus on where we can – In these past 12 months, we have created a trendy environment where visitors can enjoy and can be at ease.”
