Visitors are Impressed by the Adherence to the Guidelines
“We are a family business that started out from our grandparents, who were tailors. They set up the first store in 1977, and today, my father Yehuda and I manage five stores together— three in Bnei Brak and two in Jerusalem. We specialize in men’s fashion— suits, shirts, shoes, ties etc— that combines the quality of the boutique shops on Kikar HaMedina in Tel Aviv with the prices of Bnei Brak. Our client base comes from all over the country and includes both national religious and secular people, often businessmen and lawyers. At the start of the year we were working on a new branding strategy, and then we started to feel the impact of the coronavirus. Our products are manufactured in China under our own label, and we started to experience supply issues before Passover.
“When we saw the situation, we closed our stores and furloughed our staff, even before the whole country went into lockdown for the first time. We were not willing to risk the health of our staff, because some things are more important than money. It was sad to see all the goods sitting there in storage. There were a few lone cases when we came in to provide grooms with clothes ahead of their wedding. We made the most of this period to promote our e- tailing website that is due to launch soon. Our goal is for our online customers to find the clothes that are right for them and to provide a unique buying experience.
“When the economy started to reopen after the first lockdown, we opened all our stores at once. We had customers and we had income, but obviously our turnover was affected. What upsets me is how the actions of a few extremists have led to all residents of Bnei Brak being stigmatized as not adhering to the regulations— which could not be further from the truth. Before the second lockdown, whenever people would come to us from elsewhere, they were always pleasantly surprised at the level of adherence to personal hygiene, masks and temperature checks. It is unacceptable to hurt the livelihood of an entire community, especially one which is already bearing the brunt of the coronavirus crisis.”
The writer is one of the owners and managers of “Karl”, a men’s fashion chain Bnei Brak and Jerusalem. Tel: 054- 6691902