Champs Sports’s Digital Reaction to the Pandemic
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. physical retail industry has seen one “unprecedented” case after another so frequently that people seem to have become accustomed to it.
While the news of another layoff at traditional retail giant Macy’s was still fresh, Microsoft came out to steal another “unprecedented” thunder — on June 26, and it announced the permanent closure of 83 physical retail stores worldwide.
It’s sobering. “ Even such a big company has to suffer; where should other companies go?”
Champs Sports is an American sports retailer. As of June 2019, there are 540 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. I struggled to find content posted by this brand during COVID-19. Unfortunately, I did not find any posts about covid-19 on any of the brand’s social media outlets. This is surprising, as the brand has always been at the forefront of information about the fashion and sports industry.
But I did find one thing on Champs Sports’s website —an interface specifically designed for the pandemic. Its content is as follows.
Some rules and adjustments were released to the website.
The rules were that masks would be required to enter the physical stores and that the fitting rooms would be closed.
The only reaction, the company, made was an extended return window. They will accept returns and exchanges for up to 30 days. Other than that, there’s nothing else.
I don’t think Champion Sports’ strategy in the face of COVID-19 was smart enough. The pandemic has really hit the global economy hard. The world is in a pessimistic mood, and many companies have scaled back their marketing budgets and started chasing short-term results.
But I believe that “the worse the economy is, the more marketing is needed” and that embracing the digital economy is the key direction.
If we look through history, we can find a special phenomenon——many great companies were born in the economic crisis. For example:
- Procter & Gamble and General Electric were born during the Great Economic Panic of 1873.
- IBM was born in 1911, on the eve of the First World War.
- FedEx was born in 1973, during the oil crisis.
There are also many companies that are good at positioning themselves in the face of adversity.
In 1998, during the Asian financial crisis, many companies in Asia were laying off employees, but Samsung took the opportunity to increase its investment in China and became a leader as a result.
In 2009, China was hit by the global financial crisis. Nevertheless, KFC was bullish on the Chinese market, so they seized the opportunity to increase their investment in China and eventually consolidated their leading position in the fast-food industry.
These examples show that danger and opportunity always go hand in hand. In every upheaval, some brands will fail, and some will succeed.
I believe that in the long run, brands must transition to digital if they want to communicate better with their customers.
The COVID-19 forces commerce, marketing, and communications to be “scaled” and “mandatory” online. With consumers willing to pay the cost of learning, the “first” exposure to new entertainment, new purchases, and new communication methods. So this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If a brand/company can use digital marketing wisely, that brand will reach its goal faster and thus go to the next level.
