Corona Virus Retail Closures Lululemon, Lush and More

The latest Corona Virus Retail Closures: Lululemon and Lush to Close All Stores March 16.

With mounting social and financial pressures from the Corona Virus Crisis and the ever-increasing health risks, Lululemon and Lush have announced they will close stores starting March 16th.

Lululemon will be providing digital fitness, meditation, and mindfulness classes online. Also, Lush is available for online shopping, although they warn that as a result of diminished production capacity there may be shipping delays. Lululemon is continuing to offer online shopping as an option.

Why Aren’t Malls and Anchor Stores Announcing Yet?

Yesterday malls reduced their open hours from 11 am -7 pm. Undoubtedly this is due to financial burden retailers are now facing from lost sales and expensive leases. Shortening hours is simply not enough to mitigate Corona Virus exposure. It does little to reassure the public or to stimulate social distancing. Shoppers take cues from retailers to know if it’s safe to shop. This influences our habits more than government recommendations. Retailers have a disproportionately large responsibility in affecting the spread of the Corona Virus.

I have yet to see mall anchor stores announce their closures. This would go a long way in forcing malls to fully close doors and ease the burden on smaller retailers who have to juggle the ratio of sales and rent with much greater delicacy and a smaller room for error. To sum up, this is a complicated economical decision for all parties involved, but I believe malls, anchor stores, and larger retailers need to lead the way. Simply put, they need to do right by consumers and have the largest responsibility in our society.

It’s clear that this is the largest crisis in the past 30 years. The consequences of our inaction will forever be written in history.

How Will This Change My Spending Habits?

Time at home during self-isolation provides ample opportunity to follow social media and see what’s happening in the retail space around us. I am keeping a close watch on how businesses are responding to this crisis. We can observe more closely under this social magnifier how brands treat their employees, and what they are doing for loyal consumers.

I am building a Naughty & Nice List and will remember who to support when the time comes. Because of this, when the immediate crisis is over and recession sets in we will be more discerning where we spend our money. Our consumer habits will change. Primarily I will support small and local businesses. I will support brands that take care of their people and that respect the community. The brands that showed great leadership and acted swiftly. I encourage my readers to do the same. Locally I am seeing large races refusing refunds, and stores not offering event credits for postponements.

Are you aware of other retailers that have made announced Corona Virus Closures?

More updates to come….