SURVIVAL OF BRANDS POST PANDEMIC

It is very rightly said,” Nothing tests the human spirit and resilience like a crisis does.” For months now after the unlocking of influential brands and shopping complexes, we have been witnessing an unprecedented challenge that has stumped global and business leaders alike, the challenge to ensure the working of all brands amidst the crisis at hand. From the survival of humanity to a revival of significant businesses, several mind-boggling questions have been the cause of the collapse of the monopoly of cards!

As far as the question of businesses at hand is concerned, there is no doubt a global sense of uncertainty and India is no less affected by adapting to the new normal. With the onset of the arrival of this new normal, an intriguing approach to business and a great thought may just be what the doctors ordered!

The coronavirus pandemic and the following economic turmoil has, without a doubt, shaken businesses to the core. But as the dust settles, and we start adjusting to the ‘new normal’ there indeed are brands that hold firm, while others are struggling to survive. While we talk about the economic crisis COVID-19 has brought to us, it becomes quintessential to highlight various brands that have pivoted their business operations to diversify their portfolio and have persisted to grow.

The Coronavirus pandemic, and the subsequent lockdown, has brought massive disruption to our daily lives and behaviour. During this time, brands are unsure how to proceed, but at the same time they do have a vital role to play in this fight, and people expect them to step up and lead during this challenging time because we’ve always looked up to our brands for almost all things.

Brands across the board are revisiting their strategies to deliver a sense of safety and trust amongst the larger community.

There has been a sharp decline in consumer purchases and interactions from brands over the past six months all over the globe due to the emerging pandemic leading to scrounging economies. This has had a very major impact not only on the sales of the brands resulting in a reduced profit but majorly all fast fashion brands shutting stores or cutting off on employees due to reduced business. This henceforth has also tremendously affected the manufacturers and the labor-intensive sectors of the garment and textile industry in countries like India and Bangladesh.

The owner of Zara will close as many as 1,200 stores around the world as the clothing retailer tries to boost online sales during the chaos wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. Inditex said it would “absorb” between 1,000 and 1,200 mainly smaller stores, with losses concentrated among older shops from brands other than Zara. The Spanish company’s other brands include Bershka, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti.

With increased consciousness owing to the precautions to be taken during the pandemic all over have lead to various restrictions in terms of the prior standards of brand dealing and customer purchases. Brands have been uncertain about how to advertise sensitively not to alienate consumers struggling to come to grips with the pandemic while maintaining a healthy business. Without being able to continue with “business as usual”, many brands looked to create unique COVID-19-specific campaigns.

A Chinese restaurant chain in California is checking customers' body temperatures, Source: Business Insider

Some brands have come up with unique services wherein customers can try their clothing and purchases at home and then return accordingly at their convenience. While the conventional methodology of shopping is still prevalent in most areas and shopping complexes, most brands are advertising their online stores with online purchases as e commerce is a motor growing field that goes in well resonance with the ongoing crisis at hand leading to no contact and affordable services. Most fast fashion brands have also come up with products which are pro- pandemic and appealing to the user like a synchronized manner of clothing and masks that go with particular outfits. While brands are ensuring constant sanitization of the stores as per their respective norms, all stores are ensuring temperature checks and also reduced the number of customers with no or minimal availing of the changing and trail rooms. Most cash fashion stores have either reduced their prices or have availed sales on selective merchandise as a means to back up the dropping sales and losses incurred.

Source: FashionatingWorld

Brands and creatives have always had economic and social value; now the ideas and stories they tell may well be one of the things that helps win this war.The pandemic has changed the way entrepreneurs look at the way they connect with their employees and consumers. Times of crises call for a brand voice that goes beyond. Articulating a carefully organised and authentic brand purpose to cut through the white noise of panic and pessimism is critical now. It’s at these crescendos that the distinct values your brand is built on becomes even more imperative. It is essential for brands to identify their core product attributes and uniformly convey that to consumers and ensure that their connections with their consumers isn’t hampered even at times of crisis.

- Manas Anand