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SALES & MARKETING MUCH MORE THAN MERCHANDISING ASMCA Chair Keith Quigg shared some thoughts with Retail World on how the industry has been performing through the recent tough times in Australia. He’s rightfully proud of his members. “In Australia we’ve suffered a seemingly endless run of crises, with drought devastating the agricultural industry, fire ravaging both country and suburban locations, and now COVID-19,” he said. “The first retail industry impact of the virus was the remarkable and unexplained rush on grocery items as consumers panicked, leaving retailers stretched, both physically and tactically.” Mr Quigg says that while that panic was building, he saw other industries facing issues of their own, including the challenge of lockdown and social distancing as these became part of our daily lives and caused the loss of thousands of jobs. However, it was during this time that he saw heroes begin to emerge in the retail sector. “While not at the same level of the healthcare workers and others involved on the frontline of the pandemic, these are certainly people that deserve recognition for what they managed to achieve,” he said. “Retail chiefs were quick to recognise that managing the panic buying required thousands of extra hands across stores, in warehouses, on trucks and even to help manage the safe flow of customers in and around stores. “So, as the airlines shed employees, the retailers took them on, restoring hope for many who were devasted, having lost their income. In addition, the retailers needed significant support and a fresh approach from their suppliers so demand could be met and the retail sector could begin to return to normal.” Mr Quigg says he’s impressed with the speed with which the many initiatives have been put in place by retailers, including hand sanitiser, wipes and checkout ‘sneeze panels’ to protect both customers and staff in their stores. Forward thinking Recognising that more was going to be needed, Mr Quigg was quick to write to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, industry leaders and retailers, aiming to ensure the merchandiser teams that for years have been a retail support arm were officially recognised as part of the essential services category. “There are an estimated 20,000 merchandisers working across the supermarket, pharmacy, hardware and mass merchandise sectors,” he said. “They give branded and generic products the in-store support necessary to keep supplies on track to meet the changing demands of the retailer, supplier and consumer. “Many of these merchandisers, employees of our member companies, were ready and willing to continue working throughout the period of the COVID-19 lockdown. Many were prepared to change their hours and work with stores at unusual times, enabling far more productive work during low-customer periods. “They were trained to follow the correct sanitising practices, to work within the framework of social distancing and to keep within the large number of additional constraints placed on them. “I was pleased that in the early days of the crisis, Prime Minister Morrison identified those working to keep food and grocery items available as essential to the wellbeing of the country. “They’re now a significant part of what will be a difficult return to normal economic conditions. However, I don’t believe the importance of their role will diminish when that ‘normality’ returns. We’ll continue to depend on them more than ever. “We need to give wide recognition to the retail leaders, the expanded store teams working in difficult environments, the suppliers that responded so rapidly and the thousands of merchandisers making sure products were available to meet consumer demand. “Those people risked their own health to ensure that the rest of us had the products we needed. We need to be loud and clear in our recognition of these industry heroes, and ASMCA will lead this.” 62 RETAIL WORLD MAY, 2020