I doubt many retailers are going to have time to read a blog from me today, but I wanted to thank the tens of thousands of retailers and the hundreds of thousands of colleagues in local shops who are doing such an amazing job for their communities.
This episode has again brought home the value local shops bring to their communities, and even though I know and expect this, I have been blown away and humbled by all the examples of retailers stepping up for elderly and vulnerable customers in particular.
ACS is trying to help you to operate in these extraordinary circumstances. We’re talking to government ministers and officials several times a day about measures to compensate affected businesses, about immediate political changes to mitigate the situation, and about making sure that your colleagues are properly defined as key workers in respect of school closures.
We’ve also pulled together advice to help you to carry out home deliveries, to help you deal with your colleagues and recruit potential new colleagues from industries which have lost most of their business overnight, and to help you access government funding and support. We’ll keep this information coming, and ask us if there’s anything else you need.
There will be a “normal” again, and your communities will remember the businesses who were there for them when they really needed it. You’re an inspiration.
