22
COVID-19
An additional macro-environmental factor that’s been impacting businesses and the fashion industry is the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the closure of physical on-site/ branch based retail stores. The coronavirus pandemic continues to heavily impact on luxury retail. “Luxury retail felt this disruption. Because of reduced mobility, especially internationally, sales to the industry’s primary customer base reduced significantly. Meanwhile, lockdowns around the world kept stores closed and shoppers at home.” (Duong, 2020). Luxury brands including Daily Paper had to update their business strategies to sustain their brands during and post COVID. Unlike a lot of luxury brands, Daily Paper didn’t solely rely on their physical stores. Although the closure of Daily Paper’s brick-and-mortar flagships has impacted their physical sales, they were able to depend on their multi e-commerce channels. This granted them an easy transition from physical to online retail. However, industry experts believe in an upturn for the luxury market post COVID, with firm McKinsey & Co., anticipating further growth in the luxury goods market from 1% to 4% for luxury retail in 2021. (Amed et al., 2020)
