GANDT Fireside Chat #046 | Success tips for companies and H&M struggles in the Corona crisis

True to our motto “Working Out Loud”, we at GANDT Ventures exchange our thoughts and ideas on current news topics in the world of online marketing, digital retail, and e-commerce. This helps us uncover opportunities that can be used for companies and our clients as part of our daily business.

But most of all, it is a lot of fun and a great way to share knowledge.
Our podcast-style chats are available to anyone who is interested to find out more about what Google, Facebook, Amazon and the likes are up to.

Swiss companies use innovative ideas during the Corona crisis

Many companies from all sectors are also struggling to survive here in Switzerland. We are all the more pleased to hear from companies that, thanks to innovative ideas, can even take some kind of advantage of the crisis.

We reported a few weeks ago about German breweries that started to produce additional disinfectants during the Corona crisis.
The same can be observed in Switzerland:
For example, the Lucerne-based coffee maker Thermoplan has started to manufacture respirators together with Starbucks.

The engine manufacturer Maxon, in turn, produced motors for respirators during the Corona pandemic.

However, even if the company in question has no possibility of changing its production in such a way as to help society during the crisis, it is possible to refer to known measures.

It is not only during the crisis that it is important to maintain close contact with your customers. But now it is probably more important than ever.
Listen to our Fireside chat and learn what we recommend!

H&M writes black numbers and struggles in the Corona crisis

The lockdown has been over for a few weeks, but there is still ghostly silence in many H&M stores. It seems that there are more saleswomen than customers, which is unusual for the Swedish fashion chain.

Due to the weeks-long lockdown because of corona, H&M had to close its stores and despite generous discounts, demand is significantly subdued.
For example, the Swedish fashion group recorded a loss of 50% in its second financial year. This corresponds to a loss of EUR 500 million.

The fashion industry is suffering from the pandemic like no other. Especially medium-priced chains such as Esprit or Tom Tailor have already had to file for insolvency.

Although the trend is clearly towards online shopping, H&M has probably been relying too long on the expansion of new space and stores. The fashion chain temporarily opened 400 new stores a year.

Since 2018, however, H&M has also entered the online business and in 2019 increased the business by around 20 percent with the integration of omni-channel features such as “Click & Collect”.
However, this transformation takes time, the focus is still strongly on brick-and-mortar retail – the company’s main source of income.

For a fast fashion company, the production rhythm no longer seems to be timely, because the fashion industry is producing more short-lived trends.
The British market leader ASOS, on the other hand, launches 4500 new parts per week. ASOS takes one to two weeks from trend sightings to online sales, whereas H&M still orders its goods 6 months in advance, according to insiders.

The Spanish fashion company Inditex shows how fast fashion can succeed.
Here “Read and React” is implemented perfectly – the complete checkout data is analyzed daily. Real-time data shows which colors and cuts are best sold, so they can be produced quickly and according to demand.

Agenda | GANDT Fireside Chat Video #046