The challenges of retail in times of Corona – and the joy of celebrating weddings in the future.
by Nora Höfler
In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, all non-essential businesses are expected to close in order to slow the spread of the corona virus. A necessary measure, but it hits retailers particularly hard. In view of these ordered closings of numerous shops in Germany, the President of the German Trade Association (HDE), Josef Sanktjohanser, wrote a letter directly to Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday 18th of March, 2020.
“The corona epidemic presents our industry with huge challenges that did not exist even during past financial crises. Massive sales losses will destroy thousands of independent companies and millions of jobs,” warned the association president in his letter. As a result of the business closings, the industry will suffer a loss of revenue of “around 1.15 billion euros per day or seven billion euros per week,” wrote Sanktjohanser.
For many retail companies, the crisis could therefore “most likely mean bankruptcy if state aid in the form of direct payments and KfW guarantees without personal contributions were not granted immediately and un-bureaucratically,” explained the HDE.
BTE Handelsverband Textil also announced on Wednesday that the consequences of the epidemic were “dramatic” for the textile and fashion trade.
The major bridal fairs such as the London Bridal Fashion Week, the Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week and the European Bridal Week have announced that they will postpone their dates.
Everyone involved has no choice but to reassess the situation from day to day.
Bianca Lehrner and Susanne Hummel also told us in the name of the Austrian Wedding Award:
“The corona virus is currently unsettling everyone: from wedding industry companies to newlyweds – it causes fear for our health, families, our profession, our existence, the feasibility of weddings at the planned time. No one knows how this virus will limit or change our lives next week, or even next month. In any case, it is clear that health has priority and that we must do everything we can to starve out this virus. We have to wait and see, and hope that everything will go back to normal for us again very soon. Panic and hasty decisions, but also misconduct or lack of discipline, have no place on this serious topic. Even if we are not allowed to do it physically, we should at least move closer together in spirit, pull together and hope to celebrate the many planned weddings even more exuberantly than we might have done before.
An encouraging statement!
Christina Zauchner, owner of Austria’s ‘Brautgeflüster’ boutique for bridal wear & accessories, told Bridal Times:
“We work in a team of two without additional employees. I am supported by my former colleague, Katharina Triebelnig. We are two entrepreneurs in one house, so to speak, so we can personally take care of our brides and their wishes. The current situation is not easy, mainly because it caught us unprepared. First, the fear of whether delivery dates can be met, and now we have to keep our shops closed. It all progressed very quickly for us. The situation in Asia seems to have calmed down in the meantime, which gives us hope that the situation can and will relax again in the next few weeks. The prerequisite is, of course, that we all recognize the seriousness of the situation and that we all adhere to the safety measures so that we can start again soon. Already in the last week, we have informed our customers about the current status in order to minimize the worries that they will not be left without a dress for their wedding. We have only accepted express orders for 2-3 months after prior consultation with our suppliers and, if in doubt, not at all. We have a good feeling that the worst of the storm will not affect us. The brides who had planned their wedding in early April will postpone until the situation has relaxed again. The mood is mostly positive and our brides are confident. There is also the occasional appointment request. The optimism should be strengthened and in the future, things may be met with a little more appreciation.”
Postponed, not cancelled!
Elaine Ferlita, owner of the SPOSA bridal boutique in Limburg an der Lahn, feels for her brides who have had to postpone their weddings:
“I am sincerely sorry that your weddings are currently at risk! But let’s not forget one thing in this situation: You have found the love of your life and a partner with whom you can master this time together! And even if your wedding is now postponed or has to take place differently than planned, this fact remains! It remains to be seen what that means for us, both small and large bridal shops. I personally am currently working at full speed and am in constant contact with my suppliers and my seamstress to make sure deadlines are met. So everything is currently running fairly normally. The suppliers even now offer direct delivery to our brides, so that dresses are safe at home. I personally coordinate this with my brides. If we then have tailoring appointments, we naturally take all specified hygienic measures and ask our brides to come to the appointment alone, in order to keep the group of people in the studio as small as possible. There will be no new fittings in the next few days and probably weeks. We refer brides who won’t marry until 2021 to autumn, and we will make urgent orders after consultation.”
She appeals to customers: “Most of us need you and hope to survive these times unscathed, both in health and economics. “Only together we are strong!”
Daniel Struck, the owner of Hochzeitshaus Struck from Monheim, told Bridal Times:
“In these extraordinary times, we want to do everything we can to prevent greater damage. Nobody could have imagined this situation, but now everyone should do everything to prevent it from spreading quickly. Of course we take pity on our brides, who have planned their dream weddings in great detail. However, it is now more than the most beautiful day in life. A dear employee of ours is also personally affected, as her wedding was planned to take place this week. But of course everyone’s health must come first. Since our Chancellor’s press conference, our telephone lines have been busy with concerned brides and grooms. We decided internally to close our business for an unknown period of time, and have canceled all consultations until mid-April. The customers understand this situation and have largely arranged new appointments. Nevertheless, the financial damage is great for us. We are in the middle of peak season for groom and evening wear, and we also have many last-minute bridal and accessories appointments that cannot take place. For our daily routine, this means that we are of course still on site and can be reached by our brides personally by email, phone or Instagram to clarify all questions. In order to compensate for the situation to some extent, we will start an online shop at short notice to provide our customers with any missing accessories and offer online advice for wedding rings. Since our labels continue to produce at full speed, we can currently meet all delivery dates for our customers and therefore continue to take care of our brides. If everyone recognizes the situation and does not underestimate it, I think that normality will return in mid-April, and we will recoup our missed sales to some extent. We hope that everyone can get through the next few weeks in good health and that we can open our doors again to all future brides and grooms in April.”
“If we stick together, we are all unbeatable! That is our motto!,” says Stefanie Kox, owner of Maleika – Bridal Boutique in Krefeld.
“We very much regret that we had to temporarily close our boutique due to the spread of the Corona virus – but we see it as a necessity and a duty, because only if we act as a whole can we beat the illness and also save our economy from further standstill. For us as a boutique, the current situation means that we must forego sales and of course that affects us. But health and common sense simply take precedence. For the sake of our brides and their companions, our team and everyone else. With a heavy heart we have also postponed all of our new try-on dates until later in April 2020, and have thankfully been met with a lot of understanding from our brides. But our current brides don’t have to worry either – so far we have no delivery problems and, despite the closure, do our best every day to answer all of our customers – by phone and by email.”
Stefanie von Harbou, the owner of Happy Brautmoden from Munich, is also optimistic:
“We have to persevere!” It is now clear to everyone that times are difficult and will continue to be for a time! We try to look to the future with hope and optimism. We started giving dresses to our brides a week before our forced closing, so we weren’t completely unprepared. We have canceled and postponed all appointments for the next two weeks. Our customers had a lot of understanding for this. It is important that we keep a cool head and act responsibly! ”
The basic tenor is clear and unambiguous: together, the crisis can be overcome and mastered!
In China, retailers have found alternative and quick solutions. They have used the chat and video functions of social networks to reach their customers and to talk to them about their products and services. The shop staff quickly became online consultants. The nice thing about it is that customer contact is and remains very close and personal – and without any risk of infection.
“Do it now!” Christina Zauchner from Brautgeflüster bridal advises to use the “time wisely”
“Use this extra downtime to compare orders with all lists. Has everything been ordered? When is everything here? What else do we have to make, what could we change? The website can finally be updated. The showroom could use a touch-up. As an entrepreneur, it NEVER gets boring,” she appeals to others. “The only thing that is important at the moment is that we can continue to pay our suppliers. I therefore hope that there will be no major delays on the part of customers. Because if we can keep our business running, the damage will remain controllable. We use the time to work through everything possible in advance so that we have enough capacity available when the official “GO!” is spoken. In the meantime, we are planning, preparing and processing the to-do list.”
In the crisis, she sees potential for the industry:
“The fact that the current situation affects not only our country, but also all countries almost worldwide, will hopefully have a positive impact on cohesion in our industry. Every catastrophe in the past has brought an opportunity for realignment. So even in this “crisis”, I remain an optimist and it will stay that way. “
Dear bridal fashion retailers,
Don’t let yourself get caught up – stay optimistic! In every crisis there is an opportunity to reflect on things, to make them better in the future and instead of working against each other more than ever – and to live! We share this planet, we are all neighbors, nobody is exempt. Let us tackle current and future challenges together!
Stay healthy and hopeful!