The novel coronavirus has presented particularly tough hurdles to overcome for retail business – even those with a strong online presence.
Famed New York City camera and gear outlet B&H Photo announced it had to furlough 400 members of its staff after it was reported that the company wanted to avoid doing that over the Passover season. The New York Post reports that B&H Photo employs some 2000 employees total.
A memo to employees explained that the company had explored available options for continuing to keep staff on the payroll but, without any end in sight to the current economic crisis, the firm said it had to trim staff until conditions improve. The post quotes one employee as saying that the furloughs come as surprise given how busy the company’s call center has been of late.
The employee told the post that “computers, movie cameras and accessories for setting up a home office” are in particularly high demand.
As we have reported, this situation isn’t unique to B&H Photo. Much of the industry is undergoing some pretty tough times with event photographers and sports photographers specifically facing interesting and novel challenges. Probably one of the worst things about all of this is that there is no clear indication of when everything will let up and return to normal. But even when that happens, it is no guarantee that the economy will bounce back as strong as ever.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted you and your business? Let us know your experience in the comments section below if you like.
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