Crisis Continuity: How to Remain Relevant and Prepare for the Future

Although more than 300 million U.S. residents are under stay-at-home orders, now is an opportune time to engage in meaningful dialogues with customers, encourage e-commerce sales and prepare for store reopenings. While uncertainty exists around timelines for retracting social distancing measures domestically, China’s recent reopening provides optimism — particularly for the fashion industry. WWD reports that Hermès recorded $2.7 million sales on the day its flagship store reopened in Guangzhou, and Louis Vuitton saw growth in excess of 50 percent since its mainland China stores began reopening in mid-March. Even with economic challenges, customers continue to seek shopping experiences. First, continuing communications during the current crisis provides brands and retailers with unique opportunities to convey their ethos, potentially attracting new consumers while enhancing continued relationships. For example, Eileen Fisher, headquartered in Westchester County, N.Y., connected with hard-hit White Plains Hospital, which needed isolation gowns. After finding a fabric supplier in New Jersey, the company already has turned out more than 1,200 gowns for the hospital while also creating face masks for local essential employees, all sewn by their patternmakers at the Eileen Fisher headquarters as contributions to the local community. Sharing community outreach, activism and positivity on social media allows companies to shape

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