26-27 LSB 2020 Retail Interview_muk.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 02/07/2020 11:43 Page 26
THE BIG INTERVIEW: ONLINE RETAIL SUCCESSES
A major effect of COVID-19 has been the acceleration of online shopping. LSB spoke to three online retailers – TruffleShuffle, Character.com and Moonpig - ahead of the high streets fully re-opening to find out how business had been for them during the three months of lockdown.
Off the streets A
surge in online retail sales was one of the immediate effects of all non-essential bricks and mortar retailers being closed on March 23 when the UK entered lockdown. For companies such as TruffleShuffle, Character.com and Moonpig, this afforded a number of opportunities alongside the challenges of how they could continue to operate safely and efficiently. “We have been busier since lockdown started, made more challenging with social distancing and sanitation, but we feel like we’re on top of things and can happily operate at an increased level of demand for the foreseeable future,” Pat Wood, md of TruffleShuffle tells LSB. The company relocated all office staff to work from home at the beginning of March, giving more breathing space for its warehouse staff and helping to ease the pinch points of toilets and welfare areas. “We are firmly concentrating on providing our current customers with a safe and confident
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LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2020
Inset: Character.com’s Stephen Hewitt (pictured with buying director, Karen Hewitt) says conversations need to be had about the structural shift to online purchasing and how permanent that is going to be.
purchasing experience at this moment,” Pat continues. “Supply chain issues bear a big risk to us. A lot of suppliers closed down during lockdown which meant we had to make some significant supply chain changes to ensure continuity of stocks. I did an interview at the start of lockdown saying how difficult it was buying stock, and had a flurry of new suppliers contact us – so anyone reading this with relevant stock to sell to TruffleShuffle, please email me.” Stephen Hewitt, md of Character.com, says that, as an online retailer, it is well placed to survive, but the safety and wellbeing of its staff was always front of mind. “This meant a huge shift to home working for our office-based staff and a major change in warehouse operations to incorporate social distancing and increased cleaning measures in order for us to keep operating,” he comments. “I think we have seen, over the last few months, a major change in UK retail and the way customers will shop going forward. The push to online/home delivery has taken that final step and is now the first choice channel rather than going in store and I think this will continue post coronavirus.” Stephen continues: “Despite pulling almost all marketing activity for the last few months Left: TruffleShuffle’s Pat Wood says that supply chain issues bear a big risk.