So, a giant on the scale of Next cannot put its might behind the enablement of its contact centre workers to operate from home, nor adjust shifts or working areas in its warehouses to provide employees with a safe distance between them whilst they pick and pack orders?
Did Schuh used to fulfil orders from its stores? Did Moss Bros also rely on a back room of a store based fulfilment option? If not, why would they choose to abandon online selling when they each clearly need all the revenue they can muster?. Then there’s River Island too, deciding to call time, for now, on online ordering. What is going on?
Call me cynical but might the prospects of mega business interruption insurance pay-offs be the primary motivation? All seems a bit iffy.
They’ve got their get out jail free cards on business rates, are squeezing and/or refusing to pay landlords until our world returns to the new normal, they can claim government support for furloughed employees, delay payments of corporation tax, VAT, etc and, no doubt, they also have their suppliers forced to accept even longer extensions to payment terms.
If smaller business can sort themselves out, why can’t these? Customers are now understanding that their orders any take longer to arrive BUT as it is the only way they can get their hands on new things, other than in the supermarkets, surely turning business away is an out of proportion response to the current crisis?
Note to self: are you sure you are on the right planet? All the shops have closed, the pubs have closed, no one much is venturing out apart from key workers and lonely souls taking a walk or a jog. Doesn’t that spell massive opportunity to sell some of that languishing stock?
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