EDITOR’S LETTER: A MESSAGE OF HOPE

In my eternal struggle to come up with positive messages to send out to MR readers, I can usually come up with something. These days, however, as store traffic remains erratic and looting continues and numbers climb for both COVID-19 cases and unemployment claims and retailers and brands struggle to decipher digital market weeks and the destructive weather wreaks havoc and widespread power losses, it’s hard to feel hopeful.

Thank goodness, ours is an industry of optimists. In a conversation yesterday with Dana Katz from Milton’s in Massachusetts, I challenged him to share something positive. So, he did, insisting that there are many reasons for optimism, citing them as follows:

1. Our Team – For those who we were able to call back upon re-opening, as well as those who came back before and helped us prepare for re-opening, I’m eternally grateful. They are the true team members we’ve been able to count on and they came back with a can-do attitude that helped us re-open smoothly, successfully, and without incident. I pray for the day soon when we can call back all of our great team.
2. Our Vendors – Most have been wonderful to work with. Most of them get it, most are enduring the same challenges we are, and most are working together with us toward solutions that will get us all back in a stronger position. We’ll never forget these good guys (and girls)!
3. Our Customers – We’re blessed to have great customers who care about us and understand our mission to serve them what they want: comfortable, good-looking outfits to help celebrate the good times, console during the difficult times, and look their absolute best for the important times.
4. Our Friends – These are the fellow retailers and industry peers with whom we have morning “breakfast” calls while commuting, weekly Zoom calls, email sharing, and more. We compare experiences, talk each other off proverbial cliffs, and provide voices of reason as we deal with a daily multitude of issues for which we were not always prepared.

“These four groups,” concludes Katz, “are helping us navigate these rough waters where we do not yet see a landing spot, but we keep sailing forward nonetheless, knowing it’s out there!”