All the businesses affected by COVID.
shailynn
They never tell you what you need to know.
One nobody thinks about I drove by the other day. It was a clothing store but they do the bulk of their business from tuxedo rentals. Who is renting a tuxedo in the past year? No proms, very few weddings, there were probably at least 3 charity balls in my small town every year, those were cancelled (I know most of those guests probably own their own tuxes but still...). Same goes for florists - they have to be getting battered. Flowers for weddings, proms, school dances, funerals are on a much smaller scale this year...
Car wash - I own 3 cars, in normal times as long as it’s not raining, at least 1 of those cars was run through the wash every week. So far this year I’ve probably ran all my cars combined through less than 10 times. Don’t need to wash a car if it’s just sitting in the garage! Also this spring in summer with nowhere to go on the weekends I would wash a lot myself. In normal times I simply didn’t have the time and took advantage of the convenience of running it through the wash.
What businesses have you seen struggle the everyone else has forgotten about?
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15 comments
I have run out of things to do and still have money.
Any group entertainment providers, like DJs, equipment rentals, party supplies, etc.
Food trucks servicing corporate offices
Outdoor food and merchandise vendors in tourist destinations
Corporate supply companies
Dry cleaners (people who aren't going to the office don't get their clothes dry cleaned)
Manufacturers and service providers for any goods normally sold to any company directly impacted. We often forget that when a business shuts down, there is an outward ripple hitting every business that provides good and services to it. When suppliers lose too many of their customers they shut down too.
Clothing retailers have been extremely hard hit with people not buying new business attire and a reduction in back to school spending. Many of these stores were already on shaky ground before this year and won't survive.
Landlords who have had tenants that haven't paid rent in almost 9 months and counting.
Trade shows were all but eliminated this year and that has a ripple effect on the established vendors as well as new startups trying to get their products into the market.
Construction companies with a lack of corporations building, expanding or remodeling offices now that they have transitioned a large percentage of their staff to work from home.
These are anything from conservation things, booster clubs, social/fraternal clubs (Elks, Knights of Columbus, etc).
Any thing that gets its money from charitable gambling...ie: Pull Tabs. Since bars are not open.
I can see an argument both ways. Where I live, housing construction is INSANE because of the low interest rates. I do not see a lot of commercial construction but there's still some going on.
As for landlords, I've be shitting my pants right now if I owned rental property (commercial or residential). I live in a college town with (normally) 30,000 students here, and there's rumors they may not have them come back at all for the spring semester. Of course most students sign yearly leases, but I'm sure a lot of them saw the writing on the wall this past spring and didn't sign a lease and just stayed home, hurting student rental here locally.
Me I’m bullish and I believe this market has a lot of running room left, we’ll find out soon enough I believe the worst will be over by March or April
I’m hopeful at least
Businesses that cater to athletic events had a tough year. But businesses that cater to outdoor activities that aren’t competitive sports did well. For instance, the sporting goods store that sells hockey gear versus the sporting goods store that sells fishing gear.
On the other hand I hear plumbers and appliance techs can't keep up with demand with more people and kids at home
As an independent business owner, I want to support other independent businesses; but if you cannot require your staff to take the basic, minimal, steps to protect me and my health, then I cannot support your business. The same goes for Rotary clubs, Chambers of Commerce, and other charitable endeavors.
I do not think anyone should be told by a bureaucrat whose income continues no matter what, that they have to close or reduce capacity; but I do think there should be basic hygiene and best practice requirements for business that want to be in operation.