Retailers Preparing For Post-lockdown Boom
Big CE retailers who have been ordering excess stock in anticipation of a peak in stores sales when they reopen after COVID lockdowns are among several retail groups predicting a boom period ahead.
Indeed, chief executive of outdoor apparel chain Kathmandu, Michael Daly, sees a tidal wave of “revenge spending” on the horizon once people are allowed to roam around retail freely again.
With the sales for all things tech going well through lockdown, and set for a serious swell in the lead-up to the holiday season, Kathmandu and similar outdoor-focussed retailers are strapping in for a wild ride.
Daly is prepared for the expected Australasian surge, acknowledging that people haven’t “had the need for the products” for outdoor activities.
With iconic surf brand Rip Curl and hiking boots outfitter Oboz also under the Kathmandu umbrella, the business has seen first-hand the effects of economies being opened up through the US and Europe, where the beach and camping holidays Australians have been yearning for were a summer reality.
The wholesale order books for Rip Curl and Oboz are now above pre-COVID levels, and consumers are keen to get out and about.