“The spread of the Covid-19 virus in the world has affected millions of people. The changes have affected everyone – a friend, a loved one, a family member, or a colleague, a company whose services we use and who employs us, “said the supermarket chain “Magniti “.

While different agencies teach us how to live with the virus, each person and organization looks back and evaluates the past two months. A challenging situation has arisen for everyone, but perhaps it is a case of pride, support, and unanimity, for which it was worth overcoming difficulties.

During the pandemic, the grocery retail stores have become one of the strategic areas. The number of challenges faced by supermarket chains includes inventory shortages, product-price stability, and employee-consumer security.

Deputy General Director of Magniti, Ia Nadirashvili, says that the company had a fully functional crisis plan as soon as the state of emergency was declared in the country.

“As soon as the state of emergency was declared in the country, a crisis plan was developed in the company and from that moment we analyzed that we should support the government and the population as much as possible. Therefore, we have transferred all our resources to social responsibility,” said Ia Nadirashvili.

The first initiative of the company was to transfer money to the #stopcov Fund, which was created by the Prime Minister of Georgia, in coordination with the office of the Business Ombudsman and the private sector. Simultaneously, Magniti launched several campaigns to support the public. Disinfecting interior and exterior of the stores, equipping the staff members with the protective equipment and staff thermoscreening, are conducted routinely in Magniti stores.

Marking places with stickers in stores to encourage people to social distancing and making disinfectant solutions available for everyone were among the first implemented measures to protect consumers when buying the products. The company also supplied two medical facilities: Vakhtang Bochorishvili Clinic and the National Center for Lug Diseases and Tuberculosis, with products and household items.

Magniti also helps farmers from Marneuli Municipality to sell their products since the municipality was among the worst affected areas in the country. Due to the quarantine and lockdown regime, people had difficulties selling the products. Magniti managed to buy the products for a favorable price from people.

According to Ia Nadirashvili, the reorganization of the company due to a state of emergency was a new challenge for the team. Employees of the company became the primary priority for Magniti, and as a result, all employees of all branches received a salary with a 20% increase. The company also provided transportation for the employees during the lockdown period.

The public saw the importance of solidarity and civic self-awareness during such downturns. Everyone should behave in accordance with the rules provided by the Center for Disease Control and other competent entities. Magniti appreciates the steps and measures taken and followed by people and employees with gratitude and pride.

According to Ia Nadirashvili, the will to help the company was felt from many agencies and the media during this challenging period.

“During difficult times, many agencies and the media offered to help and support the company, which motivated us to work as hard as possible. Controlling supplies and prices was very important for our customers. We decided to sell the most popular packaged products: pasta, rice, sugar, oil, and flour without any margin. Constant negotiations with suppliers are important for the company to make the changes in prices less painful for the society” – said Ia Nadirashvili

As part of the social responsibility, the company has taken another step that allows the consumers to make 20% savings on various categories of products daily. Discount days are distributed as follows: Monday – dairy products, Tuesday – meat products, Wednesday – frozen semi-finished products, Thursday – coffee/tea, Friday – chemistry-hygiene products, Saturday – alcoholic beverages, Sunday – non-alcoholic beverages.

Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world order and united many organizations and the public to combat the invisible enemy. Magniti and the Red Cross organized a joint program to help the elderly. Within the framework of the project, Magniti’s consumers could buy one additional product for the elderly. The municipality and the store ensured that the product was delivered to those in need. We thank our 4,500 employees from 213 branches for their bravery, courage, and generosity.