The crisis will reveal redundant organizational structures with overlapping functions and unnecessarily large numbers of staff.
Obviously, the budget for vertically integrated companies will bear a heavy burden on the salaries of permanent staff. There will inevitably be a reduction in the number of staff and a reduction in the salaries of the remaining staff members.
Recently, due to the rapid development of networks franchising and sales departments have grown to incredible size in some companies. And the first wave of cuts has affected mainly employees of the marketing and PR departments, and sometimes staff working directly with the product.
Implement the information system
The efficient operation of any system requires a constant relationship between its individual elements. In this case, we are talking about stores, manufacturing plants and the company’s head office. Only a good information system can provide such interconnection – those who once invested in its implementation, today can fully appreciate their efforts.
Get rid of unprofitable assets
Retailers have already started closing the least successful and unprofitable stores and leaving the malls with low attendance rates. For example, in the USA they are closing their GAP (85), Ann Taylor (117), Disney (98) stores.
Another opportunity to improve profitability is to get rid of the least profitable or loss-making brand in the portfolio to focus on promoting the most successful.
However, the most problematic assets are in the hands of producers. Plants and factories as objects of long-term payback in the conditions of crisis will most likely change the investor.
To evaluate new outsourcing opportunities
With the onset of the crisis more and more processes will need to be outsourced. Today, many companies, in addition to the already traditional location of production abroad, are ready to abandon their own team of designers and entrust the development of collections to external specialists.
Focus on the complexity of marketing communications inside the store.
The organization of communication inside the store requires investment, but it will pay off many times. A shop is an advertisement that is “always with you”. That’s why retailers today should focus on in-store communications – visual merchandising, sales techniques and a sales incentive system. Proper product layout and effective organization of the trading space attracts customers and increases sales. Creative showcase faster than glossy advertising will force the buyer to enter the store, where another equally important component of the complex – sales techniques – comes into effect.
Focus on non-standard solutions
In times of crisis, you need to be critical about distributing your marketing budget through the channels of communication and leave only the most effective ones to get the message to your target audience quickly and at the lowest cost. Therefore it is necessary to pay special attention to the Internet which allows to realize the most non-standard decisions and to draw attention to a brand.
Today, fashion industry companies are showing great interest in e-commerce. In the U.S. and Europe, for example, recorded an increase in online sales in the pre-Christmas season by an average of 10%, while real retail is kept afloat thanks to incredible discounts up to 75-80%. Which is why we recommend that you use a shipping suite by mageworx. It is possible to allocate groups of consumers with whom to work through the Internet most effectively. First, these are young people for whom the Internet has already become a familiar environment. Secondly, men are the most loyal customers. They are difficult to attract, but if you really offer them what they need, they will stay loyal to you for a long time. Shopping for men is torture. So for men’s audience online store brand, to which they are accustomed, will be a real salvation.
There is another group of consumers who will be interested in shopping online. These are women and young people who have some money to buy accessories or clothing top price segment, but who purely psychologically can not go into a luxury store because they feel uncomfortable there. For them, an online store is an opportunity without any hesitation to make a purchase or find a product that will be the object of their desired purchase in the future.