Normally, the last weekend before Christmas stores bustle. During this season retailers earn as much as 50% of their yearly income. Not this year, all is closed because of the latest lock down. I visited a neighborhood mall. Three more stores have permanently closed. Brick and mortar retail will have fewer and fewer locales after this season.
I started looking over the Instagram accounts of the some of the big department stores. All express solidarity with Black Lives Matter. It is great PR.
However, sadly, the shopping experience has not changed over the decades. When I went shopping in the American South with my family as a child I remember store staff following us around. It was part of the routine. 2020, looking over the social media comments, not much has changed, the times or even the geography. Even SPENDING money can be a challenge,
Here are some comments on various retailers social media threads:
Continuing my conversation with Editor Alex Popov. We moved to the topic of Fashion Biz Trends. What do we expect to happen in these uncertain times? How will fashion evolve? No easy questions to answer. But, we had fun.
Stay Safe.
The second part of my reports on Shopping in the New Normal. The world is changing really fast.
Black and Paper coverage from the capital.
Berlin retail is struggling to get shoppers in stores. On Thursday the place was empty. Hopefully, things will get better once restaurants reopen.
The “New Norma”l is not normal. Berlin is feeling the psychological impact of the Coronavirus. Although the German capital has not been as hard hit compared to other regions of the country, the effects cut across the city.
Stores have opened, yet people continue to stay away. The retail experience is almost a prozac nightmare. Cordoned off areas of stores, lines to enter, no dressing rooms, mandatory wearing of face masks.
The city has eased the lockdown but shoppers are staying away from malls. Demand has dissolved. The “New Normal” for the short term means less consumption.
What makes it hard to buy? The constant reminders of the Coronavirus. A Mood killer!
I checked on family members the other day. Like everyone living in a lockdown, I reached out for a long conversation. Thankfully, everyone is OK.
The talked shifted to malls and shopping. What happens for the re-openings? Macy’s, the mall staple, when I was young the department store was a first stop. According to my sister, not anymore. It’s no secret the chain has suffered over the years. But I had no clue how bad things had gotten. A backstory, management in the early part of the century went on a buying merging spree. Buying Federated Department Stores, then May Company creating a massive coast to coast power retail brand. The problem, shoppers shifted to online buying, brick and mortar stores felt old fashioned. Secondly, the company became highly leveraged. Unable to react quickly as customers left to other shopping experiences. The company made some concept store changes. Then announced more closures. Macy’s became a wondering company without a soul.
Back to the conversation with my sister, Shopping! I asked her about going to Macy’s. The “GOD NO” response said it all. Their shoe department is awful. Shoe are left out, stacked in boxes for you to get them yourself. Not even organized! There is no sales person. When in a service industry, cutting customer service seems the same as 2+2=3.
“They need new buyers because the clothes are bad. Who would want to wear anything? I stopped going to Macy’s a long time ago”. I got the perfect example of a lost retail customer because of the short sighted nature of those in charge.
I am writing this story based one of the retailers local store, not a flagship location. However this tale could be a gage for a wider picture. Macy’s has been in retreat mode for years posting erratic sales, falling numbers, and site closures.
If a store cannot entice my sister to buy a new pair of shoes. That says a lot!
The Coronavirus has changed every business in ways we have yet to digest. Business models will crash. In fashion, retail brick and mortar stores have struggled competing against online sales. The end is near for many storied chains. The crash in consumer demand will put the last nail in the coffin. Habits will change, malls will seem like relics of a past civilisation.
The print magazine is on its last leg. Carrie Bradshaw reading Vogue over coffee in a New York cafe was the stuff of fashionistas dreams. Collectors get your plastic wrap ready. 2020 will usher in the last print issues for many titles. Because retail stores have closed for the outbreak. Buying toilet paper and pasta has taken precedent over the latest Spring Kors bag. Many brands will stop buying ads. Because of high overheads, publishing houses will struggle with new rounds of cost cuts.
Influencers face a balancing act. The travel influencer field has collapsed, like the industry. Anyone want to buy a plane ticket today? Freebies with cut, copy, and paste, stories will begin to feel trivia. Brands will now employ tighter messaging to engage consumers in the troubled times. Daily doses of wannabes aspirations will feel out of place. Who cares about a daily selfie. It maybe time to get real job. The new real influencers are medical workers.
In a quick update. I wanted to mention the factories producing clothing. They have completely shutdown in many parts of the world.
The Fashion Week Tour has started, yet the fashion business becomes more precarious. This year the challenges are too big to bury our heads in the sand. While we sit on rows during shows, mingle with each other over a sparkling wine, the warning bells are ringing louder.
Macy’s, the American retail institution announced the closing of 125 stores, including a Bloomingdales. As a major mall anchor store this is bad news for brick and mortar traffic.
John Lewis, the British High Street staple faces a turbulent future. Sharon White, group head, warned store closures are on the table. The vulnerable department store is having trouble attracting in store clients.
The other Knightsbridge Department store, Harvey Nicols struggles with not so fabulous numbers.
Dallas based luxury chain Nieman Marcus carries over $5 billion in debt. I saw their buyers at a fashion week event. I wondered what were they buying. When a retail chain holds a liability of that size, the space for maneuvering is limited.
The Big Elephant in the Room, a new virus, Coronavirus. A little known city, at least from my point of view, of 11 million inhabitants, Wuhan, has become the epicenter of a possible pandemic. The second largest economy on the planet, closed until further notice. The ripple effects, or tidal wave, are being felt.
Every major fashion house and corporation have large investments in the Middle Kingdom. The short term outlook looks bleak. Chinese consumers count for 30% of luxury goods. Most stores have closed. Burberry reported an 80% sales drop. Is this an harbinger of things to come? We can expect profits shocks in the near future. Secondly, many luxury city destinations will take a hit. With all flights to China cut, retail outlets in Paris, London, and New York will see falling numbers from fewer tourists. More concerning, the light at the end of the tunnel is still out of sight.
Supply chains have come to a stand still. The interruption will possibly be felt by consumers in September. Adidas, Uniqlo, H&M, Gap, etc are heavily dependent on closed Chinese factories.
Fast Fashion junkies could see an increase in price. Production and logistics will have to be re-thought. The “Made in China” imprint has taken a hit. Brands must come-up new solutions to avoid future interruptions. These may involve moving factories to new locations, perhaps back to USA or Europe.
Yes, there will be some interesting conversations during these fashion weeks.