The Victoria’s Secret, J. Crew and StubHub are among the few companies whose recent performance makes it difficult to survive the Coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has shut down businesses for several months, and many have been diligent in the storm, and some, like these companies, are unlikely to survive the crisis.
Some departments have been directly affected by the Coronavirus shutdowns, including personal entertainment, nightlife, real estate and the travel industry.
Accordingly, companies such as Airbnb, WeWork, AMC Theaters, Dave & Busters, and airline wifi company Coco have had direct hits from the disaster.
But fewer of those affected by the infection include companies that were already unstable before the crisis. While sustainable and successful pre-pandemic brands can rebound, our current crisis may be the ultimate nail in the coffin for already struggling companies.
Here are a few companies whose recent performance makes it difficult to survive the Coronavirus pandemic.
StubHub
StubHub, which is convenient for selling event tickets online, has been disabled by national shutdowns. In the face of COVID-19, all kinds of live events have been cancelled, and travel restrictions mean fewer tourists are buying tickets to shows outside the city.
But the long-term damage to StubHub could result in poor use of the cancellation amid the crisis.
After more than 20,000 events were cancelled, StubHub changed its refund policy to prevent fund withdrawals. StubHub president Sukhinder Singh Cassidy said that “buyers cannot take the risk of getting a refund before they can get the same refund from the seller”, meaning hundreds of thousands of people have not been paid for cancelled sporting events or concerts.
StubHub is now facing numerous lawsuits over breaches of its previous agreement to refund customers for cancelled events.
When the decline in sales during the epidemic can be corrected in the future, StubHub will find it very difficult to regain the trust of its customers.
The company’s financial and PR decline doesn’t end there. StubHub has provoked all of its employees, and the $4 billion buyouts by Viagogo has been stalled.
J. Crew
As the American population chooses to spend large sums of their money on essentials, the demand for clothing has declined amid the pandemic. With the restrictions looming across the country, some retail brands could recover from this temporary challenge. But J. Crew is in a precarious position.
To understand the cause of national pain, look no further than Twitter’s sass-masters:
“The reason for J. Crew’s bankruptcy filing is simple: people want to pay $1,000 for a dress, or they want to pay $ 10,” wrote another Twitter user, who is a GQ’s style writer. There is a long-standing issue with J. Crew’s pricing model: it is not clear to whom it is designed.
Compare this to Neyman Marcus, who filed for bankruptcy this year. In financial news sources, predictions of Neyman’s demise are long overdue. But the high-end department store is benefiting from the more volatile demand for luxury goods, which means that the price change doesn’t change how many people are willing to pay for it.
For example, if a person has $3,000 to spend on a dress if the price goes up to $4,000, it doesn’t matter because they spend a lot of money.
At the end of the day, Neiman Marcus sells the luxury idea, and when the epidemic passes, consumers who want to show off their wealth may return to such a happy market.
On the other hand, J. Crew sits in an uncomfortable middle ground. People who can spend hundreds on an article of daytime clothing are J. They are not attracted to the relatively inexpensive quality of Crew’s products. In the last decade, the luxury market has shifted towards smaller volume and customizable items.
J. Crew, with its mass-produced apparel pieces, does not fit that ticket. Store prices are still too expensive for the average consumer, turning off luxury shoppers and cheap shoppers.
On March 16, J.R. Crew declared COVID one of the first major bankruptcies of the 19th era, the result of a terrible debt crisis.
Now, if people want to continue shopping at its stores, J. Crew needs to reduce prices and attract a wider consumer base. But its current financial position does not permit such a change, which means that J. It may be the end of the Crew.
The Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret has already returned by 2020, closing more than 50 of its stores last year. Parent company El Brands planned to dismantle the underwear brand, but they recently signed a deal because the company’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic was not accepted by a potential buyer.
El Brands is now trying to break away from Victoria’s secret, including buying or public offering.
A nationally renowned franchise with a recognizable image and a knack for wiping out supermodels, Victoria’s Secret’s exotic and expensive marketing strategy didn’t age well in the post-MeToo era.
Its first-quarter report depicted a gruelling three months for the company, a 46% year-over-year fall in revenue, a 37% drop in revenue to $300 million.
El Brands, about its other major subsidiaries, said it was “committed to establishing Bath & Body Works as a pure theatre public company” and that it was “taking the necessary steps to make Victoria’s Secret lingerie the secret beauty of Victoria.” And Pink Businesses should operate as a separate, stand-alone company. “But El Brands can’t find anyone to take on this huge responsibility of a company.
