The Daily Valet. - 4/7/20, Tuesday
✔️ The End of Shopping and Rush Hour
Tuesday, April 7th Edition
I’m going to do my part and shop online this afternoon.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s Big Story
Retail Is in Some Serious Trouble
Businesses big and small are struggling
If you’ve been by a strip of stores lately, you’ve likely noticed that nearly all are closed and some are boarded up. It’s a stark reminder that these shops aren’t planning on reopening anytime soon. And that’s not good.
Last week, one retailer after the next—troubled ones like Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap Inc., along with successful ones such as Target and Best Buy—announced measures to conserve cash. In a single day Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap Inc. furloughed nearly 300,000 retail workers.
At the same time, other major retailers, from Urban Outfitters to Subway, warned their landlords not to expect rent anytime soon, reports The Real Deal.
On Monday, Ralph Lauren Corp. and Capri Holdings (which owns luxury brands Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo) furloughed all of their retail employees—announcing that their respective stores remain closed at least through June 1.
Fortune says that the coronavirus will pummel already weak retailers long after it’s been contained. Even when they’re ready to reopen, cutting back on capital spending is likely to hurt many chains’ efforts to modernize their lagging businesses.
And it’s not just aging brick-and-mortar shops that are suffering. According to Robb Report, Moda Operandi, the luxury online boutique, is shuttering its menswear business after less than two years in operation “as a result of the economic impact to the fashion industry caused by COVID-19.”
↦ FYI: Ralph Lauren himself will forego his entire salary for fiscal year 2021, in addition to his full fiscal year 2020 bonus (which amounted to $11 million last year).
A January Memo Warned of Pandemic
President Trump’s economic adviser tried to warn the White House
This global pandemic has now killed at least 10,993 people in the United States—with more than 368,000 diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
And President Trump's economic adviser Peter Navarro warned his White House colleagues back in January that the novel coronavirus could take millions of American lives, according to memos obtained by Axios.
The warning, reports the New York Times, is the highest-level alert known to have circulated inside the West Wing as the administration was taking its first substantive steps to confront a crisis that had already consumed China’s leaders and would go on to upend life in Europe and the United States.
“The lack of immune protection or an existing cure or vaccine would leave Americans defenseless in the case of a full-blown coronavirus outbreak on U.S. soil,” said the memo. “This lack of protection elevates the risk of the coronavirus evolving into a full-blown pandemic, imperiling the lives of millions of Americans.”
↦ FYI: Politico first reported about the existence of the memos in late February, but their details had not yet been published.
No More Rush Hour
A silver lining to social distancing
I can see a (usually busy) bridge from my window and each day, there are fewer and fewer cars crossing. When I walk my dog, I'm amazed by the barren lanes and lack of any street noise. Hardly anyone's behind the wheel these days.
A Reddit user, using data from TomTom, examined the traffic patterns in major cities around the world, including London, New York, Paris and Wuhan during the last few weeks of March and found that rush hour has completely disappeared.
According to Voro, residents of large American cities are taking 94% fewer trips than they'd be expected to without a pandemic. And there are some serious benefits.
With total traffic down 60% in California, vehicle collisions on the state's roadways have been reduced by roughly half and continues to fall, according to the Los Angeles Times. But that does mean that the Highway Patrol is issuing more speeding tickets due to the freeways finally being clear of that notorious traffic.
↦ FYI: New York City is seeing an increase in speeding tickets as well, as open roads encourage drivers to blow the speed limit.
A Quarantined Baseball Season?
Could sports really pick back up without a crowd?
When it comes to a 2020 Major League Baseball season, the name of the game is “contingency plans.” According to Yahoo Sports, nearly everything's been considered, from a World Series in December to a Fourth of July opening day.
At this point, nearly two weeks into what would have been the season, all of it sounds good. Fans are just thirsty for some baseball.
The latest idea? Putting all 30 teams in the Phoenix area and playing in empty ballparks. This was among the ideas discussed Monday by Major League Baseball and the players' association, reports the Associated Press.
Of course, that plan comes with questions—from whether you quarantine production staff to how much the players should get paid if there aren’t fans buying tickets—but at least players could play and fans would have something to watch. It wouldn't exactly be “normal,” but it'd be close enough.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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Shop Small
Shipping delays? Out-of-stock? Amazon isn’t the only shop online.
When we need something, especially in a hurry, most of us get the instinct to whip out our phones. A few taps later, the item is being shipped—often overnight—via Amazon Prime.
But a massive order volume, fueled by pandemic panic, is causing a logistics backlog at Amazon. Shoppers accustomed to receiving packages in 48 hours—the main perk of a Prime membership—are now waiting for up to a month for items like laptop chargers, coffee makers and hair-cutting kits, reports the Wall Street Journal.
And for good reason. Amazon is prioritizing essential items such as household staples and medical supplies. But that means you might want to consider other online shops—ones that are all too happy to get your order, and in return, are shipping out purchases with Prime-like speed. Try ordering directly from the manufacturer or find a local shop that will speed up the delivery.
What I like about Amazon is that it has all my shipping and credit card info conveniently stored. But so does PayPal and most sellers take that, making check out just as quick and simple. After all, who wants to wait for anything when you're buying online?
↦ Go Local: Give and Get Local by Square and Shop Small by American Express show worthy independent establishments near you.
What We’re Buying
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↦ Get It $70 / $25 at Alex Mill
Today’s Deals
Expires 4/7
Expires 4/17
Ongoing Sale
↦ Want More? See all 61 sales
Morning Motto
Anything worthwhile takes hard work, right?
↦ Follow: @karolinakurkova
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