Peter Williams: ‘A second wave, curfews, empty offices – is this as good as it gets?’

Instead, we have a ‘second wave’ or the prospect thereof, a tightening of the rules in many parts of the country and the 10pm curfew. Sadly, we have gone backwards from where we were only a few weeks ago.

The government appears to be leading us to accept that it will/could be like this for the next six months. But will it? 

Do they really know any more than we do? What happens at the end of the six months in March 2021? Another half-year of the same? 

Of course, we all desperately hope that a vaccine will be found – that would be truly wonderful. But there is no guarantee that this will be the case, despite the incredible efforts being applied by medical scientists.

Even when one is found, immunising the population and encouraging people to feel confident about travelling to retail destinations will take months, if not years.

Business planning has never been more difficult – except I imagine in wartime, which predates even me so I don’t know.

All organisations need some kind of scenario to plan for, so that the big decisions involving significant investments in terms of people and money can be made.

“Should we adjust to the new norm now, by releasing the pause button, and get on with life as it is at present? Just accept we have to live with Covid and adjust accordingly?”

In physical retail these include where to open and close stores and where to site distribution centres. By comparison, ecommerce is more dynamic and flexible, requiring less investment. 

So maybe we should just assume this is it? Hopefully, the situation won’t get worse – and anything better is then a bonus.

In which case, should we adjust to the new norm now, by releasing the pause button, and get on with life as it is at present? Just accept we have to live with Covid and adjust accordingly?

We do not want people to be put at risk or flout the rules. However, as the chancellor Rishi Sunak said in Parliament when presenting his Winter Economy Plan and talking on the subject of Covid, “We must learn to live with it, and live without fear.”

Easier said than done. The economic backdrop for many parts of retail is bleak. People are spooked. Consumers are avoiding big urban centres and shopping locally. There are hardly any overseas visitors. 

Online, for obvious reasons, is doing well. However, in total, overall consumer demand is weak and that’s before we see the full effect of Brexit.

“Organisations that say the workplace is closed until 2021 are not helping. That’s too simplistic an approach”

Somehow we need to do much more to enable and encourage consumers to spend. Online clearly isn’t an issue, but offline for many parts of the retail sector is a very serious and, in some cases, terminal problem.

In my personal view, organisations that say the workplace is closed until 2021 are not helping. That’s too simplistic an approach. While I appreciate this is easy to say but difficult to enact, we have to go back to the workplace as much as we can within the rules. 

However, the rules need to be sensible. The organisations that say employees can work from home are killing the livelihoods of the shoe repairer, dry cleaner, coffee shop, sandwich bar, pub and restaurant, and damaging the mental wellbeing and personal development of their employees.

In September I chaired two board meetings where attendees, at their volition, could be there in person. The difference in the quality of the discussion and the mood of the attendees, compared with the previous Zoom version, was palpable. Retail is a social activity for both our customers and our employees.

This could be as good as it gets, so we had better get used to it and plan accordingly.