Page 26 - HW May-June 2020

nz made
So, why not ShopKiwi?
At the time of launch some 1,000 New Zealand-owned and operated businesses had signed on to the new ShopKiwi website and were ready to sell products directly to consumers.
ShopKiwi Manager, Dane Ambler, says now is the time for New Zealanders to act on calls to support locally owned and operated companies as they start to reopen.
“Without support, some of these businesses simply will not make it through the Covid-19 fallout.
“Buying from these businesses will keep the economy rolling and most importantly keep Kiwis in jobs while employment ticks towards record highs.”
ShopKiwi is part of the Buy New Zealand Made Campaign,
whose Director, Ryan Jennings, says of the venture:“I’ve heard from businesses via email and message that it’s made a difference for them.
“They have sold products to new customers and to existing customers.
“Some of that has been latent demand, but some of that will be revenue that they weren’t expecting to get.”
From an SME perspective, right now, that has to be a good thing.
http://shopkiwi.online/
BE LOCAL, BUT BE AUTHENTIC
For another opinion, I turn to another highly regarded local retail guru, Juanita Neville-Te Rito of RetailX (www.retailx. co.nz).
In an early May article entitled “Six predictions for retail and shopper behaviour based on past crises”, Juanita reinforces that it’s time to take a long view, to be local and be authentic about it.
“Now is the time to invest in a consistent strategy for brand longevity and fostering on building your community.
“Shoppers largely will be loyal, talk about and buy from those who care about their community. at means they don’t want to only hear from you when you are pedalling stu to buy.
“ at means sharing your Kiwi story about what you believe in, your products, philosophies and how to give back to your community. Celebrating who they are, their uniqueness and what they mean to you.”
She continues: “Kiwis are also incredibly proud of their country and their community. ey are resilient but they are also human and their shopping behaviour will change – this will be the new normal.
“Buying local, staying local and celebrating local retail will be a key theme.
“To be part of that conversation you need to be on the customer radar and the timing might just be perfect for when big multinational brands get kicked to the kerb as other local retailers can ll the void with incredible products and solutions that support our people and ne nation.”
AGILITY – LOOKING AT SUPPLY CHAINS
And in terms of the outlook on local versus long-distance supply? e global commentators at Accenture (www.accenture. com) weren’t mincing words when they said in a March blog
that the COVID-19 pandemic will have lasting e ects and that it is by no means “just a short-term crisis”.
Indeed, they say the pandemic will have “long-lasting implications for how people work and how supply chains function,” and that, as a result, there is “a pressing need for businesses to build long-term resilience in their value chains for managing future challenges.”
is means building in “su cient exibility to protect against future disruptions” and developing “a robust framework that includes a responsive and resilient risk management operations capability”.
at capability will be technology-led, but it should also “ensure end-to-end transparency across the supply chain”.
Jonathan Elms agrees with both the need for transparency and that the disruption experienced by supply chains over the last few months has been signi cant to say the least: “You can see how things have been disconnected, how particular chains have just been completely and utterly obliterated.”
Retailers have been “radically shocked about global supply chains and how things have been disrupted,” he says.
“So I think that’s probably going to have the biggest impact as retailers think through how they’re able to source things locally, or even regionally, rather than relying on globalised supply chains.
“ e issue of agile and e ective supply chains at a localised level seems to be the one that’s pushing people’s buttons the most right now.
“If something like this happens again – and inevitably it’s going to – perhaps we need to be more prepared, to be more agile, more sustainable in the future?”
What about the need for change, buying local among them, versus massive current vested interest in the advantages of global supply chains?
24 NZHJ | MAY/JUNE 2020
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