Casualties of the Digital Age
There is no doubt that we are in the deployment stage of the Age of Software and Digital following the devastating effect of Covid-19 not only on businesses but also on people’s lives and loved ones.
Part of your narrative when teaching SAFe®, running a workshop, or talking to Leaders is to remind them of some of those business casualties. The examples provided are UK based, but you will need examples that reflect your region and even industry.
Primark, a European fashion retail store, was forced to close all 375 stores 12 days after the initial Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. They did not reopen for six months and reportedly lost £800m in revenue because they could not sell online. Two years later (yes, two years), in October 2022, Primark announced a trial of a click-and-collect service across just 25 stores. While Primark has survived, they still do not have full e-commerce capability.
The same cannot be said for Sir Philip Green, an analog man in a digital world, who saw his retail empire turn to rags (no pun intended).
The statement “no one will buy fashion online” has been attributed to various people over the years, but it is difficult to pinpoint a single source, although reportedly Sir Philip Green did say it regarding ASOS – a British online fashion and cosmetic retailer.
In the early days of e-commerce, many people were skeptical about the idea of buying fashion items online, as they felt that consumers would want to try on clothes and see them in person before making a purchase. However, as online shopping has become more common and technology has improved, many people have changed their tune.
Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group went into administration (a precursor to try and avoid Bankruptcy) on November 30, 2020, an early casualty of Covid-19. The irony is that early in the following year, ASOS was in “exclusive” talks to buy Arcadia’s Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT brands out of administration, though it only wanted the brands, not the shops.
And in February 2021, ASOS bought the Topshop and Miss Selfridge brands for £330m.
Arcadia was not the only retail casualty, on December 1, 2020, Debenhams announced it was going into liquidation. On January 13, 2021, it announced the closure of six stores in England due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. On January 25, 2021, Boohoo acquired Debenhams for a reported £55m after Debenhams announced it would shut its remaining stores by May 15, 2021, closing the door on more than 200 years of trade on UK high streets having been founded in 1778. At its height, Debenhams was the largest department store chain in the UK and even, for a large part of the 20th Century, owned by Harvey Nichols of Knightsbridge.
Announcing the final closures, Debenhams said in a statement:
In April 2021, Boohoo relaunched its website as Debenhams.com.
Pro tip
There are many examples of business casualties that did not survive the Turning Point of the Age of Software and Digital; always try and make your examples relevant to your audience and context.
