How are Businesses Preparing for Lockdown Situation During Coronavirus?

All around the world, businesses of all sizes are under threat due to COVID-19. Due to lockdown, many of the private businesses are paying from half to 80% salaries to their employees, based on paid leaves, usually under governmental pressure. This is drastically impacting the economy along with the business. With the economy going down and no work in progress, business is striving to support their employees as well as stand their ground in the market as well. These times demand a plan by the companies around the world that are preparing to go under lockdown. The need of the hour is to ponder over situations like a long span of days with no or less profit.  

All around the world, work from home has been implemented in the majority of the companies. Private offices dealing with IT, digital marketing, etc. are either shut until further notice or have ordered the employees to work from home. However, this policy is not proving to be as profitable for businesses as the traditional work environment. Although many companies have substituted their manual work-life with online yet this plan is not proving enough to battle for the possibly coming market downfall.

Many of the businesses are preparing for this ordeal, few of them are mentioned below.

Businesses are taking advantage of the essential and swift shift in the requirement of communication and working conditions. Businesses that offer video conferencing solutions are considering it the best opportunity to offer deals with reduced rates or free video time to attract a huge clientele, working from home. In this respect, universities and schools that are offering online classes are their potential clients.

Walmart

Walmart has sent a memo outlining a contingency leave plan for the workers. They are utilizing the situation to nourish the long-term company-employee relationship. The company has announced that employees fallen victim to coronavirus will get two weeks of paid leaves. The announcement also disclosed that the employees that still could not work after recovering from the COVID-19 could enjoy pay for the next 26 weeks. 

Walgreens Boots Alliance

This leading brand has been facing a high demand in the manufacturing and supply of products like bottles of hand sanitizer and faces masks.  Resultantly they may face a shortage of products before the lockdown. The company is striving to meet the customers’ demands, working agitatedly with its suppliers. The company already faced a 40% minority stake in the Chinese market; therefore, it was taking every security step to protect its employees.

The officials are working day and night with the safety and clinical officials to share updates with the team members of the pharmacy department. This is not only bolstering the business but also answering many of the questions asked by the patients, depending on the information provided by the CDC and public health officials.

Burberry

Burberry is the worst-hit luxury brand, among others. 64 of its stores in China have been shut down because of lockdown, while only 40 remain operational and even that under reduced hours and decline in sales. Although their luxury demand is badly affected, they have prepared for the worst with fool-proof strategies. The company is taking modifying actions possible precautionary measures to deal with a lockdown situation.

Home Depot

Home Depot is considering the looming lockdown as a fluid situation that they have kept eyes on. They are coming up with contingency plans so that the impact is less. Also, they are keeping a lookout for their supply chain and suppliers. They expect consumer uncertainty to delay their home-improvement ventures. This situation has forced the company to limit the supply of online masks to 10 per buyer. 

Macy’s

Like many other businesses, Macy’s is also expecting a delay in imported products and a drop in sales, especially from China. In case of a lockdown, the company, however, is preparing for the worst. They are working with the vendor partners to diminish the disturbance in sales. They are implementing a flexible schedule policy to support the employees.  The retailers are better at understanding the vendor relations since the elevation experienced in Chinese tariffs in 2019. If a lockdown is implemented, the company hopes to keep the situation under control.

Yum Brands

Yum Brands indirectly deals with food chains like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC in China. The pandemic has interrupted the business’s sale in a hard way. The impact has occurred as a result of the decline in sales and temporary closure of setups as a result of lockdown in China. To deal with the situation and protect the employees, the company has started contactless delivery. This new strategy has been well received by the customers and has shown promising results.

McDonald’s

The huge franchise has a strong paid sick leave policy, considering the current drastic COVID-19 situation. The food chain called all its employees to announce paid time off in case of a lockdown and deliver sanitation training. McDonald’s takes the safety of its employees very seriously and want them to stay out of harm’s way. The policies, however, are different with respect to restaurants and states. The employees of privately owned setups will be paid in case of quarantine. It also proclaimed that the Worldwide Convention to be held in Orlando would be convened online. The decision was made after the traveling ban was made effective by WHO.  

Starbucks

Starbucks has been preparing for the lockdown situation for a while. To facilitate the employees in case of a lockdown, they announced “catastrophe pay” for all the employees. The similar announcements have been made by Darden Restaurants and Walmart. The company president reassured the employees that their safety will never be compromised and that they would never be asked to make a choice between safety and work. To mitigate the risk of coronavirus, the popular business had also banned reusable cups, for promoting health.

The company has already suffered 50% decline in sales since their setups in China had faced closure as a result of this pandemic. However, recovery has also been reported to some extent. The company has been much concerned about the outbreak and possible lockdown in other states. The Starbucks Chinese partners are still looking into the situation.

The COVID-19 situation for many business may bring bad and struggling periods; however, if they are not prepared, the result may be far worse than expected. These businesses are doing their best to innovate, facilitate, and support their name and employees with the best possible strategies. They hope to deal with it without compromising the safety of their employees.

The pandemic has taken over the whole world and is spreading like wildfire. Many of the states consider the situation to be slipping out of their hands because the world did not seem to be prepared for it. The economic growth has been halted and is facing a decline. To cope with the situation, in many countries, central banks have reduced interest rates.

Nonetheless, the economy is hurt, and if this situation continues, the business may never recover from the loss. Lockdown has been dealt with potent strategies in the past and even now.  Governments need to encourage spending and make borrowing cheaper. 

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