Covid19 forces Ugandan pub owners to adapt to online service

Globally, early 2020 has been a period of trepidation because of the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic, taking a toll on every sector in the global economies. For nightlife in Uganda, it has only been a period of grievance. The loud music, the blue and red lights from the bars along Acacia avenue and Najjera are no more. Party night-goers can longer enjoy cold beers and whiskey while listening to tunes from their favorite deejays.

Over 70,000 pubs, bars, and clubs had to close making owners count tremendous losses for a period of 6 months now. Unemployment of over 2 million people directly and indirectly from these places has been inevitable. This has, therefore, made the impact of this COVID19 lockdown extreme, only leaving these people to scramble for a livelihood.

On June 25th 2020, The Club Restaurant Owners Association of Uganda (CRAU) petitioned to the Speaker of Parliament; Rebecca Kadaga to intervene in the reopening of these places but were only left with little or no hope.

“Leisure and pleasure are optional. They are also parasitic. They take nutrients from us and don't add any energy to our growth. These are sectors like tourism, entertainment, bars, night-clubs, and theatre-going," says H.E PRESIDENT YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI during his one of his National Addresses. With no support at all from the government, this sector is set to plunge into the worst of its depression, and will therefore need time to be fully functional again should the restrictions be lifted.

As Uganda gradually reopens, now more than ever the attention has to be put on bars, pubs, and clubs that collectively bring people together. Much as it might take time before the familiar enjoyment of pre-COVID19 nightlife returns, it is upon the owners of these places to establish operational work plans that will enable them to strike a balance between breaking even while following the anti-COVID19 guidelines.

Social distancing (1m apart) will be inevitable, mandatory temperature gun-check, and sanitizing of customers, as well as potentially prohibiting dancing and standing at bar counters could be some the guidelines the government might stipulate.

I sat down with Mr. KASOZI BENJAMIN, one of the co-owners of the B&B Liquor S tore and Lounge in Najjera to give me a deeper insight into how work was and will be in this COVID19 era.

 

1. To what extent has your business been affected by the pandemic?

Immensely. Our business setup is typically hosting people, to enjoy their drinks, the ambience and the company of their friends, but that can no longer happen. Our dilemma was and still is, how to strike a balance between profit maximization and safety amidst pre and post the lockdown.

We hadn’t also fully set up extensive e-commerce infrastructure so it was really hard for us to cope up with the already existing big market players such as Jumia that has Jumia party. With such an abrupt shift in operation, profitability of the business was and still is very uncertain.

There was/is a lot of competition from places like supermarkets that offer the same products at lower prices so people usually opt for that, pushing our business to the edge.

 

2. How has your business model changed in response to the pandemic?

Technically, were/are not closed because we still have our operating licenses. We are encouraging people to order for the liquor online at very competitive prices using our different platforms such as instagram and whatsapp.

We have also revised our menu and tremendously cut down the prices so that we can have a market share especially now when people’s ability to buy “luxurious commodities” is low, for example bottles of Uganda Waragi and Bond 7 that were initially at UGX40, 000 are now at UGX25, 000.  Now more than ever, our short term goal is not to make profit but to remain as existent market players. Should things get back to normal, we hope to streamline our operations back to profit maximization,

 

3. How have you been able to support your staff amidst this period especially now when the entire economy is facing a crisis.

We were able to facilitate our employees for the first two months much as we were barely operational because we felt responsible for them.

We also made a no-layoff pledge to our employees. All factors constant, they will be prioritized when the restrictions are waivered.

 

4. What new heath procedures will be implemented as preventative measures in curbing the spread of virus?

We are encouraging online orders and takeaways to avoid overcrowding of the premises.

We are also encouraging our customers to make cashless payments using mobile money since the virus can be transmitted to customers via banknotes and coins.

We hope to avail single-use disposable cutlery and drink ware to our customers to control the sharing of food and drinks off one plate or bottle which is a usual norm among party goers.

We also have plans of changing our layout. We have to take out some seats especially those in the mid ground of the lounge and bar area to allow enough social distance between people.

Having a privacy policy in mind, individual bio data information will possibly be collected from every person that comes in to ease tracing in case of an infected person.

Hand sanitization and temperature check will definitely be mandatory. We also hope to train our employees on the extensive sanitary protocols so that our customers can have a peace of mind when they come to our premises.

 

5. What big opportunities have sprung up for your business amidst this situation?

We have been able to fully utilize our online marketing potential especially now when many people are spending a lot of time on the internet.

The fact that alcohol has a long shelf life, we have been able to realize some income from the stock that was already existing.

The maintenance bills has also tremendously dropped especially the water and power bills mainly because of the low clientele.

We have also been able to identify our weaknesses as a business and come up with better plans post the lockdown.

 

6. What is your contingency plan as a business should we experience a second wave of the pandemic to trigger a second lockdown?

We are trying to streamline our online presence through extensive marketing and carefully managing our social media platforms because should there be a second lockdown, the internet will be the only means of business.

MACLEAN ATUHAIRE is a UGANDAN writer/author whose work has been published by the Nile Post. Her work focuses on socio-economic issues that she hopes is impactful and enlightening to the readers. Get in touch with her at macleanatuhaire@gmail.com and follow her on twitter at @AtuhaireMaclea.