BUSINESSES EVOLVING
Vendors finding new ways to sell products
Shopeco owner Debra Purdy started her week serving customers in her Walkerville beauty and wellness store much as she’s done for the past eight years.
By Friday, the COVID-19 pandemic had changed the business world so completely that her store’s doors were shut to the public and now she spends her mornings driving around Windsor delivering orders to customers.
“It’s been confusing and chaotic,” Purdy said. “I wasn’t sure what the right choice was for a few days.
“I pretty much pulled an all-nighter Tuesday trying to figure out how to maintain business.”
Purdy opted to close the doors to the public and begin offering parking lot pickup, home delivery and online, virtual makeup consulting services via Skype.
“The first thing I had to do was change my car insurance, so I could deliver orders,” Purdy joked of the challenges.
Purdy said if customers phone in their orders by 7 p.m. each day, she’ll deliver it the next day in the Windsor area. She will occasionally also make deliveries into the county.
On Friday, the store added seminars and tips sessions with consultants through the store’s Facebook page.
“It’s gone pretty good so far,” Purdy said. “We did about one-sixth of what we normally do on a Thursday, but it was just our first day.”
Purdy is just one of many business owners moving rapidly to change their business models.
Biblioasis publisher/book shop owner Dan Wells closed his store’s doors Wednesday, beefed up its online presence and is offering home delivery and curbside pickup.
“My son and I spend our evenings delivering orders,” said Wells. Creating awareness that the store is still operating is among his biggest challenges.
“I hope we create an awareness that unlike the big chains that have left and Amazon, which is de-emphasizing books, we’re still here in the community,” Wells said.
“This is disrupting consumer behaviour as much as our business,” said Wells, who hasn’t laid off any of his 14 employees.
Windsor-regional Chamber of Commerce Ceo/president Rakesh Naidu is hoping to secure more government support for business.
He spent Friday morning lobbying officials for help on cash flow, credit and wage subsidy issues.
“The government is offering a 10 per cent wage subsidy and that’s far too low,” Naidu said.
“Denmark and Switzerland are offering 75 per cent wage subsidies.”
Naidu said higher subsidies would keep employees on the payroll, prevent clogging up claims for employment insurance and provide immediate relief to both employers and employees.
Windsor tech firm Alphakor is also doing its bit to help area firms by offering several free services to help employees work from home.
“We want to make sure employees working from home have safe, secure connections and the proper infrastructure set ups,” said Hassan Farhat, Alphakor IT Business Analyst.
Alphakor co-founder Frank Abbruzzese said they’re also advising employees on basic dos and don’ts of conducting online business.
“There’s an etiquette online,” Abbruzzese said. “You dress proper and don’t lie on the couch during meetings.” Abbruzzese said the company is also helping non-profits who are hurting from seeing fundraising gatherings cancelled.
“These organizations are there for our community,” Abbruzzese said.
However, it’s not all work and no play for residents hunkering down in their homes.
Consumers still desire their craft beers and wines and several local brewers and wineries are delivering.
“Our customers are really driving this for us,” said Ian Gourlay, co-owner of Walkerville Brewery.
Gourlay said the brewery was moving toward offering home delivery and COVID -19 pushed them more rapidly into the service.
“We were able to get our website up and start delivering in a couple days because of that,” Gourlay said.
Customers can fill their carts on the Walkerville website and can expect delivery in 24 to 48 hours.
Gourlay said so far the company has kept on all 20 employees.
In addition to Walkerville, Craft Heads Brewery, BREW and Cooper’s Hawk Winery are also offering home delivery. BREW launched home delivery in the area nearly a year ago.
“We’re doing ($50-minimum) deliveries Monday-wednesday-friday,” said Bryan Datoc, owner of Craft Heads.
“We only set up our online store Wednesday and our first deliveries are going out today. We’re hoping to get to the point of daily delivery.”
Datoc said he’s hasn’t laid off any of his eight employees.