Even though e-commerce is dominating the shopping landscape, there are companies that still rely on a physical retail-store site, despite having a strong online presence.
MSNBC recently shared the tale of Untuckit, a 9-year-old business that focuses on “comfortably fitting” button-down shirts for men. While it began as an online-only endeavor, the company expanded to 80 stores throughout the country, including malls and shopping centers. However, at this point, co-founder Aaron Sanadres is in crisis mode, wondering how to navigate through the coronavirus pandemic.
“Do they close their stores? And what would that mean about paying workers? What about rent?,” asks MSNBC.
Sanadres and his team ultimately decided to shut all stores down, at least temporarily. Employees will still be paid during the hiatus, but how long the company can support a steady salary stream is not known. It will also need to figure out how to pay the landlords for all its locations.
“We have started conversations with some of our landlords,” Sanandres told CNBC. “We are going to have these conversations with all of our stores.”
While even some of the country’s biggest retailers, such as Nike and Apple, are experiencing issues, they will ultimately weather this storm, but smaller businesses will likely not be as fortunate.
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To read the full story on MSNBC, click here: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-retailers-grapple-with-closed-stores-and-paying-rent.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.Message