This is just a warning
A retail giant here in Singapore recently announced
that they are shutting down their last two stores.
Public: shocked
Fans: disappointed.
Suppliers: angry.
Not exactly the best way to end their 162 years of history.
If you were to tell me a year ago that Robinsons will close down,
I will laugh at you and say “Sure… and the sun will rise from the west.”
But Robinsons isn’t the only company that bites the dust.
According to NBC news, many iconic department stores and
entertainment giants have also recently filed for bankruptcy.
Forever 21.
GNC.
Cirque Du Soleil.
Muji.
Just to name a few.
The culprit that everyone conveniently blamed: COVID19.
But if that’s true then why are some of their peers
in the same industry doing well in spite of the pandemic?
My conclusion: It is not COVID19 that destroyed businesses.
It is COMPLACENCY.
Remember Titanic?
The engineers claimed that their ship was “practically unsinkable”.
They were so confident that they didn’t load the full 48 lifeboats.
Just 16.
And you know what happened.
Out of the 2240 passengers, more than 1500 died.
Back to Robinsons.
During the good years, if they have worked harder
to appeal to the millennials who are coming into their
prime spending years… they may still be around.
If they have moved faster into the online world and
leverage on social media and livestream to engage
both their suppliers and customers… they may still be around.
I think this quote sums it up.
Success breeds complacency.
Complacency breeds failure.
Only the paranoid survive.
Looking at the increasing number of COVID19 cases
around the world, this pandemic is here to stay.
Instead of “waiting it out”, I think the smart thing to do
is to ADAPT to this new world and win at three areas:
Your #1 fan,
Eric Feng
