By Gergana Urdarevska
The coronavirus pandemic has affected virtually every business on the planet. The first six months after the virus outbreak saw average sales drop by 45% worldwide, with a further 27% drop in the following quarter. survive; as of September 2020, only about 100,000 corporations had gone bankrupt in the U. S. alone. Countless more have followed suit around the world.
However, adversity presents opportunities. While the pandemic has undoubtedly been a challenging time across industries, some corporations have controlled to make it a springboard to recover more potent with ambitious leadership, key investments in generation innovation, and a renewed focus on visitors.
Reinventing Marks
After an era of Covid-19 stagnation, the unwavering British branch Marks and Spencer has enjoyed two years of success. Revenue grew 21. 5% in 2021, the company’s fastest expansion in a decade, complemented by M’s Christmas.
These impressive gains have been achieved through the creative rethinking of its overall strategy, adding the move from a classic to household products to a more food-based oneArray’s acquisition through M
Still, the focus on improving its online features, facilitated through the acquisition of logistics company Gist last year, and the diversification of its vegan and organic offerings have brought the company to a younger audience. In addition, the planned closure of 67 general retail outlets and the opening of 104 new outdoor specialty food outlets in urban centers are a forward-thinking mirror that maintains its success.
Delsey has wings again
While online food sales have been one of the few markets that have experienced stable expansion during the pandemic, the travel sector has been hit hard. Almost overnight, traveling abroad becomes difficult, if not impossible, with predictable disastrous effects on corporations like the French luggage company Delsey. The top nationally successful company ranked third globally suffered a 70% drop in sales in 2020, stored only through drastic action through the CEO at the time, Isabelle Parize, who was forced to lay off 50% of her staff. .
However, Delsey has since achieved a remarkable renaissance. In June 2021, the company brought in Davide Traxler, a corporate restructuring expert with well-established experience in reversing the company’s fortunes, as its new CEO. Less than two years into Traxler’s tenure, Delsey is booming: its recently released 2022 annual effects revealed that Delsey’s global net sales grew 124% year-over-year, surpassing pre-pandemic grades and outpacing the overall industry’s post-pandemic recovery nearly 4x.
This acquisition became imaginable through visionary partnerships, in particular with Peugeot and Alfa Romeo, to expand new product ranges, as well as through Delsey’s renewed commitment to enter new foreign markets. For example, Delsey is expanding its presence in Asia, partnering with leading ambassadors such as Chinese Formula 1 powerhouse Guanyu Zhou, and opening new outlets such as its new concept store in Shibuya, Tokyo, to increase its total of 6,000 outlets in 110 countries around the world. In 2022, the company’s expansion in the U. S. It was remarkably remarkable, with the company’s sales nearly tripling year-over-year to $96. 6 million.
Barnes and Noble Challenging Merchants of Doom
While Delsey was flying on top before Covid-19, Barnes and Noble had been suffering for some time. The veteran bookstore giant at the height of its strength in 2008, with 726 retail outlets worldwide, however, in the following decade nearly a hundred retail outlets closed. , 4 CEOs in as many years, $18 million in losses and an 80% drop in the price of their inventories. Overtaken by online opportunities like Amazon, the company feared losing steam.
However, 2022 saw the opening of 16 stores, with another 30 planned for next year. The secret of his act of Lazarus? He hires James Daunt as the new chef. Daunt has placed a renewed emphasis on the books themselves, the books and the customers. He immediately purged the shelves of Barnes.
By returning the hobby to the bookshop, Daunt has already effectively resurrected the British Waterstones bookstore; although this is the debut with Barnes and Noble, its upcoming expansion in 2023 offers promising prospects.
Puma excels by focusing on performance
Another example of a CEO effectively replicating lessons learned from a commercial enterprise further is in the footwear and sporting goods industry. their logo identity fades, prompting them to bring in Bjørn Gulden as CEO to get shipping back on track.
Gulden immediately delayed the performance, signing sponsorship deals with big names like soccer master Neymar and music icons like Dua Lipa, Jay-Z and Rihanna, who played a vital role in triggering his rebirth. By the end of 2022, the company’s annual sales and overall turnover reached record levels.
On the other hand, rival Adidas has suffered a worrying crisis, especially over the $250 million gap in its projected revenue and the 56% drop in its percentage value caused by the fallout from the Kanye West controversy, which led the German giant to stay. And hire Gulden as the new CEO on January 1. Judging by 20% in its percentage value even before the contract is signed, it is widely accepted that you can prepare for its recovery.
Case studies provide a post-Covid plan
While Covid-19 has caused many difficulties for businesses, it has also presented new opportunities for innovators. Startups may have less difficulty adapting, but those 4 survival stories show that incumbents can triumph over external pressures and regain the upper hand. with a forward-looking approach. Armed with the audacity to venture into new markets while preserving its core business and integrating virtual innovations, any company with its head on its shoulders can achieve its own post-pandemic renewal.