What effect is Covid 19 having on Businesses?
Your Dad might not be driving you around in his JCB, It is understood that more than 25% of JCB’s suppliers in China have been forced to shut down, as a result, they are low on key components.
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The tech industry has had quite a shakeup with Apple and Microsoft declaring that they are having cash flow issues, which will undoubtedly lead to a review on dispersing the countries which produce the parts for their devices.
With Samsung stopping production to begin manufacturing masks meanwhile shifting part of its smartphone production to Vietnam.
Interestingly as factories in China remain largely closed, High Street shops in the UK are urgently looking at how they can plug gaps for products that are due on shelves in as little as eight weeks.
“A lot of retailers are worried they’ll have no stock in the stores soon because so much comes from the Far East now, particularly in textiles,” says Kate Hills from Make it British.
“We’re so heavily reliant on boats coming from China [but] it takes weeks to get here. We are going to start running out of stock in the stores unless we find manufacturers locally and that’s what businesses are now trying to do.”
Local Business owner Bhavik Master’s, from Leicester, has seen a dramatic increase in trade over the recent weeks, it’s come 360 degrees, 30 years ago his family saw a large proportion of their trade go overseas and now it seems like it could be on it’s way back across.
Like dozens of British manufacturers in towns and cities across the UK, they could soon be piecing together orders for clients they once lost because the coronavirus is causing chaos for big retailers and their supply chains. The virus has laid bare how exposed global trade is to a sudden shock, as supply lines have been interrupted. It is presenting big opportunities for the factories that did survive to fill those gaps.
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Unexpectedly booming are companies such as Zoom Video Conferencing software shares are up almost 42% year to date, including a roughly 10% gain since the Feb. 3 interview. With Google also announcing recently that it would roll out free access to advanced features for Hangouts Meet amid the coronavirus outbreak. Tactical!
As people are encouraged to work from home it’s no shock to hear that Takeaway companies such as Deliveroo’s stocks shot up, with Netflix unsurprisingly increasing alongside.
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Netflix currently has 7 million paid subscribers. With Netflix’s new business previously trying to corner India as their next Growth Market, a market in which it has been targeting its next 100 million subscribers. Perfectly timed as Prime Minister Modi has recently advised people to avoid mass gatherings on festivals to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Meanwhile in China, where box office collections are down nearly $2 billion in the first two months of 2020 over the prior-year period, as theatres have remained shut. https://media.giphy.com/media/gTURHJs4e2Ies/giphy.gif
…and perhaps less surprisingly Toilet Roll Companies are booooming as people panic buy up all the loo roll they can waddle home with. Don’t worry though Greg Wallace has been prepping for this moment since 2018 when he explored the process of toilet paper creation up in the Trafford Centre in Manchester which produces 700,000 rolls a day.
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In a hilarious twist of events, an Australian family accidentally ordered 48 huge boxes of toilet paper instead of 48 rolls, so they are now sitting on 12 years worth of loo roll, which a week later has become a valuable commodity. First of all, they made it into an obligatory throne, they are now selling it off to raise money for their daughter’s school.