Amazon to Delay Prime Day, Other COVID-19 Retail News

Here are the latest stories to emerge as retailers and brands deal with the impact that the global spread of the coronavirus has had on their businesses. This daily update offers retail executives the chance to stay-up-to-date on all that's happening within the retail industry, helping to inform future plans and strategies:

• Amazon.com is postponing its major summer shopping event, Prime Day, until at least August and expects a potential $100 million hit from excess devices it might now sell at a discount, according to internal meeting notes seen by Reuters. Prime Day was launched in 2015 as a way to drum up sales during the summer shopping lull, and has previously occurred in July. The decision to delay it means Amazon will have 5 million extra devices it would have expected to sell sooner, items like its suite of voice-controlled Echo speakers that have been popular orders during the event.
• Levi Strauss & Co. has pledged to donate $3 million to help employees, community partners and supply chain workers through several different channels who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The apparel brand is calling on its Red Tab Foundation, an employee-funded program that provides financial support for Levi’s employees and retirees, for aide. In addition to monetary support, Levi's is donating approximately 10,000 medical-grade masks that were stored for employee safety to hospitals around the globe. The company is connecting employees to resources to donate any extra N95 masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) they might have to their local hospitals.
• Arts-and-crafts retailer Michaels has donated $1 million worth of fabric, enough to make nearly 750,000 masks, to more than 70 local organizations on the front lines of mask production across the country. In addition, Michaels is enabling makers to create their own acetate face shields and fabric masks by offering step-by-step instructions, templates and links to necessary products on its website. Fabric donations are being shipped for free through Michaels partnership with UPS.
• Moda Operandi is shutting down its men’s business as the coronavirus pandemic crushes demand even among top-tier shoppers. The online retailer started selling men’s collections, in season and through its trunk show model, in June 2018 to capture a rapidly growing luxury menswear market. “As a result of the economic impact to the fashion industry caused by COVID-19, Moda Operandi has made the difficult decision to sunset our men’s division, and focus on our core business around women's fashion, fine jewelery and home products,” said a company representative. Employees who worked on the men's division will stay employed until the end of June.