For the first time in recent history, retailers are choosing how many stores to open, not how many to close. In this podcast, we delve into our counter-intuitive claim that the pandemic created a (hopefully) once in a lifetime ”opportunity” for companies to focus on health, rather than growth - re-fashioning businesses for the future and using a “COVID-19 Cover” to ponder whether stronger is better achieved via smaller. At the risk of oversimplifying, we see two options: 1) store closures to cut costs and 2) reducing promotions to elevate the brand. Here, we dive deep to assess and quantify the impact from both, analyzing the nuance in pursuit of an optimal combination.

BMO Clients can view our report, "Did COVID Actually Save Retail? Deep Dive Into a Post Pandemic Path to Profits", by visiting: https://researchglobal0.bmocapitalmarkets.com/research/93ca27c5-1dcd-432b-b226-8ee9b7bf1638/