YouSaid · the spoken record

Brian Dodge

lines on the record: 30
first: 2020-05-06
most recent: 2020-05-06
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“With leaving their homes, sometimes their challenges are things as simple as if I have to work this shift, then I can't get to the grocery store in time to get the things that I need because typically they are best stocked at the time that I would be at work. So I think you'll see retailers continue to be creative in how they target their incentives towards their unique needs of the employees in a location and their region.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, you know, I have not heard that discussed as an incentive to bring people back, but you've seen retailers that have been open utilizing a variety of different incentives from increased pay for a period of time, permanent increase in salary. Others have offered other more creative things on top of that. One retailer offering, particularly in those early days when the grocery supply chains were stretched, that distribution center employees could, they partnered with a grocery store to allow distribution employees to buy milk, eggs, toilet paper, things of that sort at the end of the day just to make that convenient for them. So there's a variety of ways that they incentivize employees to come to work and to stay at work during a period of time, recognizing that the challenges are not only their discomfort”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Right, understood. Just my final one. I know we did talk a bit about employees and the process of returning to work. You mentioned that in some of the lesser affected states where they're starting to reopen, you're seeing a lot of willingness and wanting to come back to work. In some of those more affected areas where it might be more of a sensitive issue, either conversations going on around, I guess, incentives, right, or overtime or bonuses, anything to kind of entice maybe people to want to come back a little bit more, when things start reopening.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I have sat through much like I'm sure you have many, many presentations around expectations. I think they run the gamut. It all depends on things that are unknowable right now, which is around the duration of the stay-at-home orders and the risk of a second wave of this. So I think everyone looks at their bull, their bear, and they're kind of midway case and hopes for the best. I think everyone has the obligation to be prepared for the worst.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I guess this is more of a macro question and one that's occurring a lot now among just investors and everybody. But how do you think retailers are planning in terms of a recovery? Do you think they're thinking, their base case is V-shaped, L-shaped, U-shaped, like whatever your letter is, what would you say the base case is the retail industry is thinking about a recovery?”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, I don't have a great deal of visibility into the individual conversations, and I probably disappoint you with my answer, but I think it honestly is a conversation retailer, my retailer, with all of their landlords. There's just a lot of variations or variables, I should say, that would impact the success of negotiations from location to location. From the retailers paying the property owners, from the property owners paying the banks and the insurers who back all of it up. And so all of those parties are going to have to work together to get some sort of larger scale solution. And that's what we're hopeful we'll be able to pursue.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's helpful. I'm actually going to skip ahead to one of my other questions on rent, given that you brought it up. I'm curious now absent anything coming from Congress, but just as retailers think about reopening an instances where they haven't paid rent, but they're going to be opening, let's say, at a lower capacity. Only 50% of people allowed in the doors, et cetera, whatever, how it's stipulated. Do you think that they're Or will they start paying like normal again? I guess how do you think that payment of rent is going to evolve or how are those conversations now playing out as the conversations or the retailers to reopen?”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think it's worth noting. One is around liability for businesses. There are many businesses that have had an obligation to operate during a particularly challenging time, and it would be to ensure that families have the things that they need, it will be important for Congress to consider the risk that those businesses now face from the plaintiff's bar and to provide some sort of liability mitigation to ensure that they're not deluged with lawsuits that hurt their ability to function going forward. The other piece is considerations around relief related to rents. The landlord tenant relationship has been strained a bit during this period of time as businesses have been unable to have been focused on maintaining their cash balance.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Question. Yeah, great question. So, you know, first and foremost, Congress needs to make sure that the credit markets continue to flow. So when we don't anticipate that they will take action on a next round of relief until at the earliest later this month, later in May, could slip into June. So ensuring that the credit markets continue to flow, Federal Reserve has done in the Treasury have done really great work there, want them to continue to be focused on that and adjust any needs. Second is ensuring that there is continued safety net for those who are out of work, making sure those people are able to stay financially comfortable and not risk further degrading the economy. I think outside of those, and I should note tariff relief, you know, anything that Congress can do in there to encourage additional tariff relief would be helpful. Other buckets.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, it's still an issue of great focus for retailers and other industries as well. There has been modest efforts undertaken by the administration to provide some duty relief around a certain set of products from a certain set of nations. But of course, the fees that retailers face for the import of goods is exceptionally high left out of the relief that was provided now to three weeks ago were imports from China and of course that's the lion's share of volume. So we remain hopeful that the administration will see fit to extend the duty relief to include a larger share of the tariffs that are due. And we hope that Congress will do its part to weigh in with Administration to encourage them to do so. It is by and large an administration decision around tariffs, but certainly Congress can provide some encouragement.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think it's also trained customers. Customers have gotten new experiences with the e commerce and digital enabled commerce such that they're likely to stick with some of these things going forward. Curbside pickup has been incredibly popular. And I suspect it's only partially because of the contactless element of it. It's also quite convenient. So I would expect to see retailers, one, will learn a lot of lessons from their own experimentation. They will likely have identified places to make investments that will persist past the point where they're required to do these things to make up for closed doors.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Absolutely. Necessity is the mother of adventure. What's my innovation? So they have recognized that in order to preserve sales volume that had to try new things, and in some cases that's required them to pull forward investments if they're capable of doing so. There's been analogy and it's probably been used by more than one CEO, but for the last several weeks, every day has been Cyber Monday. So they have had to look for creative ways to get more volume out of their e-commerce channels. And in some cases, that has been fulfilled from stores that have been closed. In others, it's been buy and line pickup in stores. In others, they've been utilizing traditional delivery model. So lots of innovation in there.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Understood. And then I have a question on Omnichannel, a number of these retailers are trying out curbside pickup, other features to aid with the customer purchase process. Do you think retailers are well enough set up to pivot their businesses? I mean, some of these companies have been doing on these channel for some time. Others are reasonably new to it. It looks like more retailers are focused on buying pickup and store, buy online ship and store and so forth. You're seeing an acceleration in investments.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, I think that's going to be more of a business decision so if the business believes that there's stores that don't make sense to open for whatever reasons they apply, I think we've seen some retailers announce that they intend to reopen all stores. Others have said that they may not. So it'll be something that they consider on a case-by-case basis. I think our focus right now is ensuring that they have the ability where it's appropriate to do so to make that decision themselves as opposed to because restrictions limit their ability to do it.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, it really is on a retailer by retailer basis. I think they are, there is no playbook for this. And so some of the questions that they're trying to ask themselves are, you know, what are the proper demand signals for them to utilize to place orders? And I think that's going to be different from retailer to retailer. What we know is that they have, in some cases, they have inventory that they need to figure out what to do with perhaps inventory that won't make it to the shelves or needs to come off to the shelves because of the season having passed. Are they going to dispose of that?”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So the answer generally is no. The rules of furlough require employees to come back when their employer calls them back. I think the language around that is a little bit more legally than I just put it, but they're required to come back. And if they don't, they surrender the unemployment insurance that they're collecting at that time. So the incentive is there for them to come back, and this was really the design in the CARES Act, was to ensure that employees stayed connected to their primary employer and that employers continue to pay health insurance and things of that sort. So generally speaking, it should be relatively smooth. There will undoubtedly be examples where people do not. Certainly any instances where it was the layoff as opposed to”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Okay, great. And then my last question, and then I'll turn it over to Alex, is, you know, we've heard some of the grocers and the broadline retailers that have been managed to stay open and have had very high demand for their consumables, have been hiring additional workers from places where they've been furloughed, so from retail, from hotels, from the airline industries. Is there any risk that it might be tough to get some of these workers back”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“For a period of time, it's not clear exactly how long, and giving customers the sense of what they're going to encounter when they get to the stores, I think is another piece of giving them the comfort of going outdoors and leaving their home when it's appropriate to do so.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh, heather conveyance. Yeah, yeah. Great, great, great point. So I think you've seen some really good examples of it, and I won't claim to have seen all of them. But Best Buy put out a notice last week announcing that they were reinstating their delivery, home delivery for appliance and things of that sort. And they did that with a lengthy message from Corey Berry, their CEO, but also included a video to give those who may use the in-home delivery a sense of what that'll actually look like. Similarly, Starbucks did something last week, much like that, where they gave customers a sense of what it's going to look like to go inside of a Starbucks. And I think that's really smart and important right now. We are going to be in a new normal. If people have been locked inside their homes now for six plus weeks and haven't been out, this is a good way for them to be exposed to what that's going to be like. We're going to be in this.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And started the process of making those orders pretty early. So as we understand it, face coverings are in modest, the challenges of getting those are modest. They're pretty accessible, particularly because the requirement is not for surgical grade-based coverings of cloth coverings, things of that sort. What's a bit more challenging, and you've seen some states adjust some of their rules around it, has been disinfectant type cleaning supplies to make sure that they can have those. So that's been their area of focus. Kate, there's another part of your question that's eluding me right now.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Right. So great question. The practices, they're pretty straightforward. I think anybody who's been to a grocery store has experienced them. You're going to see metering in the stores. So something likely less than 50% of store capacity or four or five people per thousand square feet, some variation of that to limit the crowds inside of stores. You're going to see when those capacities are reached, you're going to see queuing outside the stores. You're going to see queuing at the register to ensure proper distance face coving for store staff are going to be commonplace. They already are, so you should come to expect that. In terms of acquiring the things necessary for operating in this environment, the retailers who have been closed understood that these supply chains were going to be strained.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Okay, great. And then maybe if you could talk to us, Brian, about how retailers are conveying some of the changes to consumers, because I think it seems like once the shelter in place is lifted, it's really not going to go back to normal. How should we think about how the retailers are preparing in terms of procuring enough safety equipment, being able to maintain social distancing, and how they will convey that to the customers?”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Too familiar to those who live in New York, Boston, D.C., Chicago, and other picking areas that are outside of those hut zones. And so the employees are generally eager to get out of their homes and get back to work. And the customers are excited to be able to satisfy their cravings for shopping. And so they have been remarkably positive thus far. It is early, but that is certainly a positive sign.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Only anecdote. I'll give the data that we have seen, and I can't quote it by the numbers because I don't have it retained it that way, anything that's data-driven I can give you from China, anything US would be anecdotal. China, you see a relatively slow increase in store traffic conversions are below the typical level for a period of time, but it's a slow and steady increase, but it does not start with a bang. I don't think anybody would expect that to happen necessarily here either. For those who have anecdotally shared where they have opened in the US, they have been, the experiences have been remarkably positive. The employees who have come back, just keep in mind, these are retailers who have been very careful about where they've chosen to open. So these are places that have not had the spikes that are all”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, the state's green light for them to do so is just one. It's a very important consideration, but it's just one consideration. The other ones are the employees ready to come back to work and are the customers ready to shop. And retailers are looking at, they're getting a pulse on those things as well. Some are able to do so based on the volume of e-commerce and curbside and other things that they're doing locally. They're also looking at other indicators in the area that are giving them an insight of whether the customer feels like they're ready to come out of their house. That's helpful. Thank you. This might be jumping the gun a little bit, but I guess since we have heard and seen some retailers open now in certain states, do you have any data or any anecdotal evidence in terms of”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Tool to use to establish a more streamlined set of proven practices from state to state that can be required and that retailers will employ to ensure the safety of the folks inside of their stores. This is intended to demonstrate retailers' readiness so that when the public health considerations of governors reaches the point where they feel comfortable to reduce these restrictions, that they know that retailers have the practices in place to keep customers safe. So that's where we're moving to now. You're seeing the retailers who have been closed are preparing those practices. They're looking at the things that they need to do inside their stores to allow for social distancing, how they need to prepare their staff for those practices, how they need to access things like PPE in order to meet these standards. And so they're preparing for that now and waiting for the green light from the states. One last point around considerations for reopening.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Print for states to use as they start to think through the reopening process. And that's important for a few different reasons, not the least of which is if you look at how the restrictions were put into place in early March, they were done so on a state-by-state basis. They were done over the course of a week, but probably a little bit less than a week. And understandably so, and not with criticism intended, a bit chaotically as states tried to institute rules, they kind of improvised on what those rules were. Well, now we've had a full month or more of operation under restrictions. We've learned a lot about how to keep team members and customers safe in these stores, but from those who have been operating over this period of time. And so we've built this blueprint to give governors.”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Of the norm. So you see many retailers who are doing curbside pickup, even if the stores are closed. They're doing shit from store to get more capacity out of their e-commerce platform. So there is a lot of creative innovations that have been employed to ensure that retailers able to serve their customers and maximize the opportunity for sales during this period of time when the stores are closed. Looking ahead, we are preparing now retailers are preparing for that next step, which is opening. And I think it's important to recognize that the opening process is going to be a rolling one, and it will differ from company to company in terms of timing. It will differ from state to state and company to company. What we're trying to do, and last week we in coordination with our members rolled out a blue”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“This period of time that's fluid uncertain as well, but 50% of retail, I think on March 25th was closed. And we're finally at a point where reopening seems to be starting. I wondered if you could tell us where we are now in the number of doors that are back up and running. And then if you can maybe walk through how retailers are approaching reopening with regards to state restrictions and other limitations. Sure. And again, thank you for having me. March 25th seems like years and years ago and the world has changed quite a bit since then. To your question, in terms of doors open, I don't know if there has been a material change in the total number since we were together on March 25th. However, I do think that you have seen far more activity and utilization of the stores in ways outside”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Almost six weeks later, we are in a very different spot where many are at least starting to think about reopening. While our questions are different for this call, the level of uncertainty and questions on how things will play out remain the same. We look to Brian today to speak to us about how retailers are starting to plan for the opening of stores, how they'll be staffed and stocked. We also plan to ask how retailers are thinking about safety and the cost of making both employees and customers safe. And finally, how we should be thinking about expenses like rent and labor and a likely reduced volume environment. We're going to be conducting this call in the form of a fireside chat where Alex, Jenna, and I will ask Brian several questions, and then we're going to open it up to the audience for questions in addition by attending this conference to provide Goldman Sachs the right to record and redistribute the conference information, the views of the third-party speakers do not necessarily”
2020-05-06 · Goldman Sachs Exchanges · Client Call: How Retailers Will Re-Open · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT