To help companies get through the coronavirus crisis, MHA Larking Gowen has organised a series of free webinars with business leaders from the East of England, with the next one looking at the retail sector.
The high street has been one of the sectors hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic and, as all businesses continue to battle through it, there are lessons for everyone in how retailers have adapted.
On December 15 the next of the series of free Bitesize Insights webinars organised by MHA Larking Gowen will see Robert Hughes of Hughes Electrical share his experiences of this year.
“The role of the shop is changing rapidly in a considered-purchase sector such as ours,” he says. “The web used to be the shop window to support sales instore, but this has completely reversed with the stores now providing a viewing and fulfilment opportunity in support of the website.
“We’ve seen a big swing towards people focusing their expenditure on the home and that has kept us very busy in challenging circumstances. Our website is absolutely flying, with people working round the clock both in distribution and the call centre. But shops have seen four months of closure with staff furloughed,” Robert explains. “So we’ve got some people who are feeling overworked and other people who are feeling worried about their futures. It is a very difficult time to run a business.
“Before Covid, around 35pc of transactions in electrical goods across the industry were made online, with 65pc in the store. That has swung completely the other way, with 65-35 in favour of the web. The question is: will that switch back?”
“In the first lockdown many people learned how to shop online and had the time to gain confidence in it. The second lockdown has just re-enforced this behaviour. However, people have great civic pride and do not want to see their high streets fall into ruin to the benefit of Amazon. They want to support their community and local businesses.”
MHA Larking Gowen partner Ian Fitch will host the 30-minute webinar. “We share with business owners how other business owners are dealing with the pandemic,” he says. “Looking at ideas, how to grow the business once we get back to normal.
“In the webinar we like to get behind the business owner, to find out what makes them tick to understand how they make decisions. The last question will be: What one piece of advice is the take-away for everyone listening?”
To watch the free MHA Larking Gowen Bitesize Insights webinar with Robert Hughes on December 15, please register at https://rebrand.ly/HArch
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