Shoppers benefit as coronavirus outbreak sorts retail leaders from laggards
Covid-19 shook up the status quo and exposed the fact that many retailers are run by executives who are incapable of embracing change or being innovative.
That’s according to Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon exec.
Well managed retailers, he adds, quickly pivoted and created business models that helped them excel even in a pandemic.
Why would we want to go back to the way things were in retail early in 2020 prior to the arrival of Covid? In a period of about 10 months, a massive number of changes have taken place with most of them being better for the consumer, Ladd argues.
“Yes, a large number of retailers filed for bankruptcy and some even went out of business. So what?” he says.
“The only retailers that had to declare bankruptcy were those that offered very little in terms of value to consumers. In fact, the majority that declared bankruptcy had lost relevance in the eyes of the consumer including JC Penney.”
No future for you
In an online post, Ladd states: “I don’t see much a future for Macy’s and other large retailers that refuse to hire the best executives to run their companies.”
“I continue to see far too many retailers implementing the wrong strategies and failing to create innovative business models. Will malls become distribution centres? In certain cases, yes. Should we expect to see many new brands and models? Yes.”
Elsewhere, he predicts that livestreaming will increase in the US during 2021, but continue to trail what’s taking place in China.
Tik Tok, meanwhile, has incredible potential for retail. “I believe we will see them make great strides,” Ladd comments.
He concludes: “The one constant will be change. I believe the retail industry will see more changes taking place between 2020 and 2030, than what took place in the prior 100 years. And that’s OK.”
