A shopping mall in Changsha forced merchants to open during the Spring Festival, and closed the store for 50,000 a day? Here comes the response.

The interior of the shopping mall. Photograph by Xiang Yipeng

Zhongxin. com, Changsha, January 27 th, for the network transmission in Changsham international shopping plazaHunan Wanjiali Group responded that the shopping mall will not force merchants to open their business during the Spring Festival. This matter is a rumor and has been reported to the police.

The notice of this online transmission pointed out: "In order to respond to the national policy of celebrating the New Year on the spot and meet the consumption needs of consumers, the business hours of our shopping mall will not be adjusted during the Spring Festival in 2022, and it will operate normally according to the winter business hours: during the Spring Festival, all shops must ensure that they are open for business normally, and must not be late, leave early or close. If they are late, they will be punished by 500 yuan/time; The closed shop will be fined 50,000 yuan/day according to the contract area of 100 square meters or more, and 20,000 yuan/day according to the contract area of 100 square meters or less (including 100 square meters). "

The signing unit of the above notice is Hunan Wanjiali Group International Shopping Plaza Co., Ltd., and the signing date is January 12, 2022.

However, the reporter noticed that this notice was neither stamped with the official seal of the company nor signed by the legal representative of the company.

"The company did not issue this notice and did not force merchants to operate. The so-called fines for violating regulations are even more false. We only propose to all merchants to try to open as much as possible during the Spring Festival. " Huang Wen, director of the administrative office of Hunan Wanjiali Group, said in an interview that during the Spring Festival, the shopping mall itself is open normally, and the business hours are from 9: 30 am to 10: 00 pm. Merchants can decide whether to open or not according to their own conditions, and shopping malls will not intervene forcibly.

Why do you advocate the business of merchants? Huang Wen, for example, said that if a customer booked a New Year’s Eve dinner at a restaurant in the mall, but other restaurants were closed, then the customer’s experience would be discounted. "So we advocate that merchants are open during the Spring Festival, one is to serve customers, and the other is for the management consideration of shopping malls."

On the 26th, the reporter visited many storefronts such as clothing, mobile phones, training institutions, leather goods, catering, gold wares, etc. in the above-mentioned shopping malls, and the staff of the storefronts all said that they had not received the above notice.

Most stores said that they would open normally during the Spring Festival. Only a few training institutions and restaurants have made it clear that they will be closed for a few days during the Spring Festival, but staff will still be on duty during this period.

Why do you have to be on duty when you are closed? A staff member of a training institution said that according to his knowledge, the contract signed between the institution and the shopping mall included the agreement on the opening and closing time of the store.

"Judging from last year’s situation, our store’s business during the Spring Festival was not bad." Ms. Zhou, a staff member of a goldsmith shop in this shopping mall, said that this store will be open for business in the Spring Festival this year, and colleagues are ready for work.

"Our store will open as usual during the Spring Festival. For people who work in shopping malls, it is normal to go to work in the New Year." For going to work during the Spring Festival, a staff member of a brand clothing store in the mall seems very calm.

In response to this matter, the reporter interviewed Liu Ming, executive director of Hunan Ruibang Law Firm. He believes that if the online notice is true, the behavior of the mall is suspected of infringement, because there is a contractual relationship between the merchant and the mall. If the contract does not stipulate that the merchant must open during the Spring Festival, the mall has no right to make such demands on the merchant outside the contract; In addition, as a party to the contract, the mall has no right to fine, and the so-called fine has no legal effect. "And if the notice is false and forged, then the act of publishing false information to disrupt the production and operation of others is suspected of violating the Law on Public Security Administration Punishment, and the public security organ may impose penalties according to law; Seriously, it is also suspected of fabricating and deliberately spreading false information, and will be subject to criminal punishment. "

(Source: China News Network)

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