Retail in questions

As in any crisis, there are those who despair and those who look for fresh opportunities. In this unique and special edition of Global Retail News, we investigate the retailer strategies for survival and careful resumption of business. All are flexible and adaptable. In the U.S.A., Kroger is transforming supermarkets into online picking centres. In Europe and in the U.S., Lululemon attracted a vast audience of nearly 170,000 online viewers watching live yoga sessions. In Italy, Giorgio Armani wants to evolve away from the historical absurdity of fashion seasons and collection cycles. “Old world retail practices took a long time to die. This time, change is coming much faster”, a financial analyst recently told Global Retail News. According to the flexibility of social shock absorbers available to each country, the evolution will be survivable or catastrophic. There will be winners and losers.

For all the major questions, we have no certain answers. After lockdown, will customers continue such massive demand for e-commerce? Will customers be more frugal in consumption? If so, will such decisions and altered trends be linked to an environmental cause or to buying power tensions? Will governments and major players in the private sector be ready to talk about strategies which are less based on fossil fuels?

To date, nobody knows.

By Gautam Chowdhury
CEO of RXG India