Business Advice
TRADE UNITE IN COVID-19 FIGHT
As 10 weeks of lockdown restrictions ease as we head into June, we take the temperature of the photo trade by quizzing its leading lights on how they’ve coped with lockdown, and just as importantly, how we deal with whatever comes next…
W
ith the news that non-essential retailers (including those dealing in electronics) in England can re-open from June 15th as long as social distancing is observed, we appear to be turning a corner in the fight against Covid-19. However, as the financial implications and effects of shuttering or mothballing the majority of our businesses for two and a half months gradually becomes clear, we’re not out of the woods yet. Feeling it important to chronicle these unprecedented times
Paul Reynolds, Sigma UK General Manager
and our own industry’s reaction to them – who knows, some of the ideas and opinions here may benefit your own business and show that whatever concerns you have are not just yours alone – we’ve asked leading lights in the photo trade to, essentially, write this article for us. So we’ll take a step back here and hand you over to your colleagues and peers. How has lockdown been for them and what can we learn from the situation to be able to better respond to and reassess whatever this ‘next stage’ brings?
Mark Baber, Sony UK Technical Marketing Manager, Photo Channel
“We have been working with all those retailers who are open and supporting them where we can with free dropshipping, special offers and online activity. It all helps! Clearly a strong online presence has been crucial over the last couple of months where retail shops have been forced to close. These strange times give us all a good indication of our strengths and weaknesses and how fast we can adapt to a new way of working and what we should be putting in place to be stronger if we ever find ourselves in a similar situation again.”
“Since lockdown the Photo Channel sales team have supported our UK retailers, including Wex, Park, Wilkinson, LCE and Jessops, with online marketing support. The team set up their homes as working studios including setting up our modular event stand in my house. We have been and continue to create content for product videos, become virtual assistants, carry out 121 customer sessions, Q&A webinars – both live and recorded in advance – wrapped up with advocate webinars highlighting their workflow and why they switched to Sony.”
We are all at the heart of how photographers document these times. Our way of working may have changed, but we all still play a part in providing great products which shape how amateurs and professionals create images.” Jeremy Martin, Transcontinenta UK
Got an idea for a photo trade-related business issue you’d like us to cover? Let us know direct via info@bpinews.co.uk 6 June 2020 | BPI
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