The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

LOCAL electronic retail companies say they fear the global novel coronavirus outbreak will have a devastating impact on their companies in the long-term.

In an effort to manage the spread of the deadly virus, Chinese authorities last month mandated factory closures in the majority of its provinces.

A number of Bahamian tech businesses that rely on products manufactured in China told The Tribune they are worried the issue will have a major toll on their inventory shipments.

Craig Pyfrom, managing director at DC Technology, said the virus’ impact on China has affected his company significantly.

“We’re finding that a lot of our electronics that we would bring in for people we cannot find and they’re saying they are in back order because of China,” he said.

“Some of our products are not available and they don’t know when they’ll be available because a lot of things are made over there so we’re finding that to be a problem.”

Asked whether his company had a back-up plan given the uncertainty surrounding the management of the virus, he added: “Well we’re looking for different products because we don’t have a clue when this is going to end.

“It don’t have an end in sight or how big it’s going to grow. Is it going to impact all the countries soon? It looks like it’s spreading all over the world so I don’t know. It’s scary for business right now.”

Mr Pyfrom said his company has found it increasingly difficult to find handheld devices. He also said his company has not been able to get manufacturer support because some of the factories in China are empty.

“We bought some time clocks and couldn’t get any support because no one answering the emails,” he said. “They weren’t giving the support that they were supposed to give.”

Carlos Gomez, the logistics supervisor at Micronet Technology Superstore, added that his company has experienced a number of delays with getting their orders in.

“We do have a longer wait for a few items, especially the ones that come from China,” he said.

“I know one of the companies in California who we have shipments from on a regular basis, they did mention that one of the ships was in quarantine.”

Mr Gomez explained that one of the containers the company was shipping on a vessel had to be quarantined because they “detected an infection in one of the crew members”.

“It’s not drastically impacting business yet,” he said. “But (with) some parts they take longer than usual. If you had like a turn around by two to three weeks, it’s (now) taking like four to five weeks.”

Randy Major, owner of Mangrove Network, told this newspaper he plans to stock up on accessories and parts because he expects a delay in shipments until Chinese officials get a handle on the epidemic in the country.

“I know that there’s going to be a decrease in supplies in terms of my computer equipment so I’m trying to prepare for that by ordering surplus supplies now to prepare for that shortfall,” he explained.

“I know it’s coming because most of the factories in China basically are in that city that is affected. So I know that in the future it’s going to be difficult to get your hands on most equipment.”

Mr Major said he has already encountered some issues regarding “long turnaround times” when ordering equipment.

He added that he believed a number of tech companies would be impacted because most of the major electronic companies have their products manufactured in Chinese factories.

“I do not deal directly with China. My distributors are US based companies, but companies like Lenovo, Dell (and) HP, they are global companies.

“Most of them do not manufacture or make those parts in the United States or other parts of the world, they make them in China because of cheap labour.

“So really it almost doesn’t matter where you purchase it from because you’re not purchasing the item directly from the factory.”

The coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China, has killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 80,000 so far.

This week, health officials urged the public to prepare for a possible pandemic outbreak in the United States. Up to press time, there have been no confirmed or suspected cases of the virus locally. However, four Bahamians are in quarantine after travelling on a Canadian domestic flight with a passenger earlier this month who later tested positive for the virus.