WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The struggles of the retail business since coronavirus hit the U.S. are well documented with J. Crew and Neiman Marcus filing for bankruptcy this month.
Now, the National Retail Federation is holding a series of conversations with CEOs across the retail industry.
Matthew Shay, the National Retail Federation president and CEO, said the some of the virtual conversations will include leaders of Walmart, Lowe’s, Starbucks, Gap and Target.
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The first of these online conversations began Monday with Mike George, president and CEO of Qurate Retail, Inc., who spoke about leading in times of crisis, the post-pandemic consumer and future of retail.
Shay said the events will offer insight to help businesses through this time of crisis, the state of retail and the way forward for the industry.
Finding a way forward comes with uncertainty as more retailers reopen in Lake Worth Beach.
“We’ve been worried about our fellow proprietors in town and are glad that they’re able to join us now. Hopefully we’ll get some business and some traction downtown,” said Caroline Clore, the owner of Paws on the Avenue in Lake Worth Beach.
But with summer starting next month, Clore is already preparing for another slow down.
“We are going into summer, and we lost the end of our season, and we all depend on season to get through the end of the summer,” said Clore.
Some shops are changing their business model to limit contact.
“We’re throwing around the idea of having FaceTime consultations. I think that was a great service to offer. A lot of people feel like they’re more susceptible to this, so they want to be in a common place,” said business owner Laura Garofalo.
The pandemic has prompted many businesses to get innovative. The National Retail Federation is encouraging more businesses to get creative.
“How can we all create an ecosystem where stores can stay in the middle of it, since they’re still critical but surround them with other ways to engage digitally,” said George.
Click here to learn more and how to participate in upcoming NRF events.
