Freelancers are people who are self-employed and who do not have a long term contract with a particular employer. They can work in any field virtually, while most people work in marketing, communications, creative arts, and information technology. Freelancers are sometimes represented by a company or provisional agency that sells services of the freelancers to clients.
They work in different types of industries and they will sell their services at a declared rate. Some freelancers work independently or use websites or associations to get the job done. Althoughthe term independent contractor can be used to describe the tax and employment classes of such workers, the word “freelancing” is the most usual in the cultural and Innovative industries. And the term can refer to participation.
What are the changes in June?
The service providers of freelancers say outdoor companies are showing signs of a revival after the government eased the lockdown. A survey is conducted by a Bengaluru based organization. Around 14,000 freelancers responded to the survey. They said that the 64% of the 14000 freelancers now have more jobs than in the past two months.
63% of the total invoices, which collected in March before the starting of lockdown in the country, are fully closed. It was 16% in April and 27% in May. Now in June freelancers are getting back into work. The domestic payments were delayed by an average of 19 days to 24 days. The international payments are also delayed. It took twice time than usual time.
A freelancer can work in any field virtually
Some freelancers, which include designers and writers, have larger demand in June. 76% of designers and 80% of content writers say there are more jobs in June than in April or May. Because this system reduces costs, companies can work with selected freelancers at these critical times. Since April, Instamojo and RazorPay have increased payments by 20-25% through micro entrepreneurs, which includes free trade organizations and private companies.
Gig Platform Flexing announced a 75% increase in the number of freelance positions in February. PeopleStrong HR reports that 25-30% of employees in Internet, information technology, IT services, startups and hospitality companies, fast food restaurants, retail outlets and logistics have become independent over time.
Impacts of Covid-19
According to a new study by the freelance platform named “Upwork”, 47% of managers would hire freelancers after the COVID-19 crisis. “Businesses find value in flexible options in different types of situations,” said Adam Ozimek, chief economist at Upwork. “It was just our news back then. Companies need to move fast, adapt to remote jobs, and change businesses in many ways. Some of them try to have more flexible skills and find that they work, especially when they need to move fast, grow, and be dynamic in situations”.
The data is part of a report by Upwork, examining the hiring habits of 1,500 US managers. This year’s survey looked at two sets of data, one before the crisis in Covid-19, which is from October 2019 to November 2019 and the other in April 2020. An independent firm named “ClearlyRated”, were conducted the online survey.
Covid-19 and business consequences
The study had 2 parts, which reflects changes in the labour market since the epidemic. One of the main challenges faced by managers who participated in the Upwork survey in November 2019 was the lack of skills and the acquisition of the necessary skills. In the second phase of data collection in 2020, 45% of organizations will freeze their employees and 39% will lay-off or do so in the future.
Previously, employers expected only 53% of laid-off workers to reenter. Only 10% said that they had added more personnel to respond to the epidemic. It still remains to be seen how employment trends will change, as most countries are now open to business at different stages. These declines is different from the Great Depression, as the global economy never recovered from the epidemic, and by 2020 changes in the US economy were rapid.
The act named “CARES” (Corona virus Aid, Relief and Economic Society) has reduced the impact of sudden delays on the traditional workers, businesses and the self-employed by giving financial support to them. That is why many government agencies are continuing fight. Along with demand, the technical infrastructure of some employment departments has increased.
What is the situation of employees?
Anyways, this great depression can be a guide to the future. As a result of the recent decline, many traditional workers lost their jobs. Many employers have made contact with freelancers and self-employed, to avoid continued spending on the balance sheet. They became safer through this. This situation would be ideal for developing a business, as there is a greater demand for freelance workers.
People are not happy with this trend. In the event of an economic downturn, there is often a “voluntary” increase in self-employment. Most of the peoples want to work for a fixed salary. But there is no any other option, so they forced to become a freelancer. At this time it is unknown for most of the peoples who lost their job, about what to do after leaving the job.
There will be a huge demand for freelance workers in future
Some low-wage workers actually earned more than they earned from their jobs because of “CARES” act. It is also unknown about that the employers will call back their workers to the job. All know that more thanhalf of the workforce currently works in at least half of the workplace and are more likely to use remote and independent workers in the future.
The future of freelancing
People are turning to freelance, especially to keep up and grow faster. Osimek said, “They have to consider how to remotely change their company overnight. To do that, it is very difficult to find a full-time employee”. Most of the employers are not completely satisfied with their staffing in firms. They prefer to work with freelancers to complete the work more quickly.
The management found that working directly with freelancers reduces costs, provides more transparency in the process of hiring, and it also provides access to inappropriate skills. Most employers seem to have a close relationship with their extended group.The study found that the average age of independent talent participation was 4.1 months. They mostly hire freelancers for writing, creativity, web development, and software development. Marketing themselves is a better option than going to companies who gives employment for who looking jobs.
With the release ofCovid-19 rules and regulationsworldwide, many consumers and buyers are concerned about the safety of store visits. Busy streets and peak roads can be a concern for many. Governments around the world are recommending that people stay in their homes and disrupt the corona virus spreading network. According to some media, most people prefer to stay indoors. However, we need to shop for our essential things.
It may be the most urgent basic need (except for medical care), which can increase the risk of Contact the infected people. The corona virus threat is changing the order of the retail sector. It is limiting the number of shoppers, who can enter store at any time. Following societal segregation through guidelines, customers and employees focus on technologyand to help make purchases more secure. Technology has great impact on shopping.
Now our society uses more beacons, pointers, security cameras and payment solutions in an unprecedented way. Retailers are changing their offerings, or in some key cases, to better serve the retail market in the current epidemic. These are some examples of technology providers offering great solutions to improve social distance and improve buyer safety during this Covid-19. They are given below.
1. Robot deliveries and online shopping
The emergence of SARS in late 2002 led to an increase in the number of online business platforms for businesses and consumers. Some Beijing bars offer online shipping and ordering. Online shopping requires a robust logistics system. In the United States, many companies and restaurants in China have launched unconditional delivery services.
Online shopping discounts the rate
For taking inventory, they use robots instead of the person. China’s e-commerce giants are developing to send robots. However, before the distribution of robot delivery services, shipping companies must make a clear protocol to protect the sanitary condition of shipping materials.
The money transfer through physical contact could be a reason for spreading of virus. So the Central Bank has taken several steps to clean up China, the United States and South Korea. Digital wireless payment is the best payment method today, extending on cards or electronic wallets.
Digital payments promotes people to shop online, pay for goods, services and utilities, and get promotions faster. But there are more than 1.7 billion peoples who have no bank account for digital payments. The availability of digital payments depends on the availability of the Internet, equipment, and the network to convert money in to a digital format.
As ATM’s become major employers at the time of the epidemic, stores are looking for ways to reduce contact on payments. Walmart has introduced several ways to improve secure controls. For shoppers, the Walmart application encourages Touch-less paying by using Shoppers. The peoples, who download the application, can scan it with a built-in QR app for wireless purchases. Recent changes are that shoppers who make additional payment through the app are forced to touch the screen while making transactions.
3. Queue location technology – Sensors are used to limit store traffic
Supermarket giants “kroger” made headlines when the announced that it would use technology in the queue of the system to limit traffic within the store. Kroger now decided to limit the number of shoppers into only 50% of capacity in a store. Rather than relying on their workers to manually calculate how many people log in and log out, the company is using queue location technology. It is also used to count customers automatically and speed up exit lines.
People counting system
4. Indyme – warning buyers when they are close to each other
With the participation of buyers, Indyme is working on tools to raise awareness of the social space at the points of sale in real time. Called the Smart Dome, the device looks like such as a security camera. However, Smart Domes can really see where the buyers are and inform the messages to shoppers when lot of people around. Indyme says his specialty is Intense Speed, designed to work in grocery and stores and used in improvement stores.
5. Using robotics for auditing lists with computer perspective
People are weak. But robots are not. A robot named “Tally”, a self-propelled robot scanner, is used in places like Markets, big stores, inventory via camera, computer vision, and machine learning. Tally can set prices, product location and availability. It can also detect items that are out of stock or incorrect. Therobot that performs these taskswill pull employees out of the store aisles and promote social distancing practices in supermarkets.
6. Pathr – Activate spatial intelligence to rearrange fields
In the current crisis, Pathr has found a way to use his platform to increase the level of retail security. Pather’s special intelligence platform encourages machine learning and data analysis to discover how customers move in stores. The things like social distance, AI are influenced by the company’s current technology. It will help operators in large areas understand how diseases spread under specific conditions. The company reported that it was in contact with retailers to give brief description about the social distance.
The extent to which COVID-19 is contagious is clear, and some shoppers raise questions about the safety of online orders. Experts believe the virus can live three hours, depending on the materials. (It is difficult to make decision about the life of the virus, and as experts continue to study these, these numbers may change.). That is, COVID-19 will not be survived on product until you receive the items you purchased.
Loading truck on a warehouse
It also creates a difficult shipping environment because of COVID-19, so you may not be able to leave the package. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that taking COVID-19 packets is safe. Commercial products are less contaminated under the influence of different conditions and temperatures. Organized food retail services, such as Big Bazaar, zomato, Swiggy will increase the door-to-door shipments.
Courier companies, logistics companies, etc. are supporting storage and purchasing services. In logistics and goods, the role of local stalls, banks, cooperatives, market tops and entrepreneurs is important. Stages Organized retail companies / corporations can regulate the retail sector in terms of sanitation, awareness raising, close communication, performance, health and safety.
Who knew that remote working is going to be the new culture of working from home. Earlier, it was considered less of a job but as a customer service position at a below minimum wage. Now it’s a full-blown career. Managing remote working and remote teams is now a big responsibility. Here are remote working tips for employers where you can set up the path for your team’s success.
Technology- “The Need of The Hour” has proved as one of the best remote working tips during Covid-19, when the global economy is shutdown. It has made us capable to get our job done flexibly, so we try to adapt to this technology. Employees and employers are keeping up with the changing needs of the changing hour. Some major industires are also found promoting the culture of Remote Working.
What is Remote Working?
Remote working stands not just for the advantages related to the involvement of staff, their lower rotation, however the conjointly nice potential for development. This will ensure productive time while working remotely. It’s an open-end chance to redefine what cooperation between an organization and a worker really is. However, your teamwork depends a lot on them, and the way you gift them with priorities and goals will facilitate them so they can notice the most effective solutions.
The goals should be mutual, set, and nominative, because of this your team’s motivation to implement them won’t decrease as a result of they’ll recognize what they are nisus for. If individuals work along, aiming for one goal, they share responsibility for the project.
Remote Working
Remote working is additionally a chance for different ways that of accounting for work, not essentially for hours worked, except for results.
Remote working has pulled up its sock over last years and there’s been a growth in working remotely. If we see some trends then over the last 12 years, it has shown a growth of 159%. 91% growth in remote work over the last 10 years and a 44% growth in remote work over the last 5 years. Here is about some industries which have started promoting the new era of remote working.
Industries that work remotely
Why Remote Working Is the New Trend?
The comfort of being at home with flexible working hours
Set your own schedule of the day
Taking some days off for Self
Better time management
Less of stress and anxiety
Learn more skills at home
Benefits of Remte Working
The current global crisis has urged businesses to make it mandatory that their employees work from home. A significant adjustment is neededif you are a newb to working remotely. Because a bedroom can turn into a home office and taking conference calls half-dressed which is now your new formals. Tips to remote working for employees and employers can make things less stressful and more productive.
Remote Working Tips:
1. Maintain Regular Hours
Get up in the morning and the first thing in the mind is to set a schedule and stick to it, for god’s sake. Set up some guidelines because now you are working from home and sleep is going to hit you hard. You have to understand that working remotely means extending your day or starting early to compete with your side bench colleague. When it’s done, wrap up before you go to sleep; don’t leave it as a mess. Use remote tools like Rescue Time will help you track daily activities.
Rescue Time helps you keep in track of time
2. Designate A Workspace
Remember if you have to stay mentally focussed for longer hours so, designate a workspace. Make your guest room a new home office and keep it less of a disturbing place so you can focus more. You just have to work in a comfortable environment with the right equipment at home so you can be efficient and productive. During a video call, make sure you don’t have a distracting background or a noisy room.
3. Socialize With Team
Isolation and series of lockdowns have made us a great deal to connect with our friends and colleagues like earlier times. Don’t forget that the basic key to remote working is socializing more and more with your team. You do have to let your team talk about common interests, ideas and if possible, try meetups for people in the same region, and in-person retreats. Such interactions will let you keep connected and included in the team. These interactive experiences will let you be more proactive about nurturing relationships.
4. Set Rules With People in Your Space
Set some ground rules with other people at your home or who-so-ever you share your space with when you work. Because, whatever your excuse maybe you can’t let people service you just because you are working hard from home. Try and divide up domestic labor so that others at your place don’t get frustrated.
5. Schedule Some Breaks
Try scheduling some 20 minutes tea break and take some time off. Give yourself adequate time during the day and try not to be lethargic all day. Because working like a donkey whole day won’t bring success to you. It’s also not broken to your mind but also to some break to the processors of your PC/Laptops. A lunch hour and mini coffee/tea breaks can boost you up and re-energize you for the next work slot.
6. Use a VPN
Using a VPN which includes wi-fi at coworking spaces, libraries, cafes, airports which means a network that you actually don’t control. Using a VPN at home will let you access some important websites so which your company provides you with. In that case, try leaving your VPN connected as often as possible because it’s always better to have it on than not.
Buy a new sim or set up a phone number for official calls. It can be a free VoIP service, such as a Google Voice. A separate contact will let you keep up the work-life balance.
8. Spare Some Time For Physical And Creative Activities
Maintaining a safe social distance up to 6 feet, try to get out of your safe space for some fresh air. Move some hands and leg, do some Zumba which will eventuallyboost you up with energy. Believe me, exercising gives you a nice life with less stress. Run your creative minds and draw something, or just grab some colors fill in some drawings.
9. “Show Up” To Conferences And Be Detected
Certainly, you may participate in video conferences and conference calls, however, it is a smart plan to attend facultative conferences generally, too. Take care to talk up throughout the meeting thus everybody is aware of you are on the decision.
If your leader is lax concerning obtaining you in a very space with different staff, raise to possess associate annual or semi-annual trip in your contract. It might be for annual coming up with, training, or team building. Or, tack it onto another business event, like a yearly business meeting, near the conference, or workplace vacation party. DO not wait around for somebody to ask you to the workplace or a happening. Be proactive.
11. Take Sick Days
When you are sick, take the sick time you would like. If you have got sick days as a profit, they are a part of your compensation package. Not taking them once you want them is like abandonment cash. If you are a freelancer while not sick days, it is terribly straightforward to comprise the other time-is-money lure and check out to power through sicknesses.
12. Hunt For Coaching Opportunities
When you are not in an associate workplace together with your fellow staff, you would possibly miss out on coaching and skills development courses that square measure educated in the flesh. Your company may even forget to feature you to its on-line coaching courses. Additionally, to top-down coaching pushes, if there’s a course you would like for career development, raise if you’ll take it. Also, if you get enough advance notice of forthcoming coaching that is on-the-spot, it would be a decent time to request a visit to headquarters.
13. Overcommunicate
Working remotely needs you to overcommunicate. Tell everybody who has to realize your schedule and availability usually. once you end a project or vital task, say so. Overcommunicating does not essentially mean you have got to write down a five-paragraph essay to elucidate your every move, however, it will mean continuation of yourself.
14. Be Positive
Once you work remotely full-time, you want to be positive, to the purpose wherever it should want you are being excessively positive. Otherwise, you risk sounding sort of a jerk. It’s unfortunate however true. Thus, embrace the exclamation point! notice your favorite emoji :D. You are going to want them.
15. Cash in of Your Perks
Once you’ve worked in associate workplace full-time, it had been a struggle to seek out the time to pop one thing into the kitchen appliance that always. Operating remotely comes with distinctive perks. Cash all of them, you are it.
16. Do not be Too Arduous on Yourself
The most roaring remote staff have a name for being very disciplined. After all, it takes serious focus to induce a full-time workplace job done from associate unconventional house. Everybody lets their attention drift, generally. If you discover yourself operating one minute and booking flights for your forthcoming vacation successive, do not reprimand yourself gratingly. Instead, raise yourself whether or not folks in associate workplace settings do a similar issue. If the solution is affirmative, cut yourself some slack, then go back to figure.
17. Finish Your Day with a Routine
Just as you ought to begin your day with a routine, produce a habit that signals the shut of the workday. it would be a symptom off on a business electronic messaging apps, a night dog walks, or a 6 p.m. yoga class. You would possibly have an easy routine like motion down your laptop and turning on a favorite podcast. No matter what you select, make love systematically to mark the tip of operating hours.
There are many more countless advantages and tips of remote working but there’s more to remote working tips for the team. There are some remote team tools that will simplify the process to manage remote workers and teams to keep them productive and grow them professionally.
Tools for Remote Work
Top Remote Work Tools for Remote Teams
Zoom
Evernote
Google Drive
ProofHub
Basecamp
Dropbox
Instagantt
Troop Messenger
Slack
World Time Buddy
Timezone.io
10to8
Krisp
Todoist
Blink
Chimp or Champ
Kickidler
Teamwork
Hub staff
WooBoard
iDoneThis
LiveAgent
Time Doctor
Nextiva
Appear.in
Top Remote Work Tools for Teams
Remote work is additionally a chance for different ways that of accounting for work, not essentially for hours worked, except for results. The days once you need to sit within the workplace to complete the specified eight hours full-time area unit over, this conjointly offers a lot of opportunities for businesses that may optimize their prices. You do not have to be compelled to maintain a workplace, equipment, buy coffee, and look out of fruitful Thursdays. Simply invest in tools that facilitate on-line work, and their area unit a lot of and a lot of them of prime quality.
A study 5 years ago showed a 13% increase in productivity once remotely working from home. The explanations expressed were the reduced range of breaks and leave. Not solely work from home, however, work from any place or a coworking place within the world is gaining a lot of votes. By giving staff a lot of freedom, limiting negative practices like micromanagement, we tend to enable individuals to grow and unharness their potential.
With bigger freedom comes bigger responsibility and with it even bigger worker involvement in what they are doing. this is often confirmed by the State of Remote Work 2019 report ready by the bird of Minerva Labs. per it, mobile staff with a thirteen higher likelihood will not wish to alter jobs for the subsequent five years. this is often one thing price finance in!
Remote Working Tips for teams can be hugely rewarding, but only if you keep your productivity up and maintain a healthy work-life balance which will eventually nurture your business relationships.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected economy not only in India but all over the world. COVID-19 has already resulted into lay-offs which led to increasing unemployment. IMF predicts that India’s economy will contract by 4.5% in FY21. However to accommodate the growing need of jobs, the Government needs to implement good and fair policies. Thus, Manu Rekhi, Director at Inventus Capital Partners, speaks on why the Indian government needs to create a business-friendly ecosystem and what entrepreneurs need to focus on.
Manu Rekhi of Inventus Capital Partners believes that the government should not finance startups or venture capitalists. Instead, it should focus on providing an ecosystem favorable for the startups by carrying out effective policies and practices. India needs to create jobs for 12 million graduates entering the workforce every year. Startups absorb nearly 57% of fresh graduates in the country.
Acknowledging the startup initiative and commenting in the greater influence held by the big companies, Manu Rekhi said,
When the startup policy was being drafted, Startup Bridge India along with a consortium of organisations (TiE, Nasscom, FICCI, iSpirit and more) made 129 recommendations to make it easier for startups to grow in India, but only 10 percent of the recommendations were accepted. The policy has not created a level playing field for small companies and investors. There is too much lobbying by large firms who have a vested interest to limit competition. If this is the case, there will be a continued brain drain from India and startups will eventually move to places of efficiency. This is why we see a continued increase in company registrations in Singapore and Delaware from Indian startup founders. Patchwork like POEM just convince startups to pack up their bags and move to the west. It’s not unpatriotic to leave India, rather it is unpatriotic to not strive towards having the best environment for startups and encourage healthy competition in India.
Unnecessary business regulations and taxes need to be done away with to let the startups breathe and survive.
Calling out on the hostile business ecosystem, Manu Rekhi asserted
The other important thing is that if a country is not business-friendly, startups have to change their origin of operations. You have to be ready to move to a market that supports your business ideas. Any country keen to create a great startup ecosystem should make it friendly to smaller businesses.
Startups during their initial phase are vulnerable. Hence, government policies in India should provide a similar playing field. Burdensome and ineffective policies can lead startups to die a premature death.
Earlier, Deep Kalra, chairman and CEO of MakeMyTrip, had warned about the global rivals taking over the Indian startup system. Home-grown companies are struggling to achieve share in the domestic market. Large foreign companies after merging with the local company create a stressful environment for the other potential local players.
Policies should be implemented to accommodate the capital requirement by small firms from foreign conglomerates but market security provisions should be rendered to make the local players competent enough to take on big firms. This can only be achieved by the putting place effective startup orientated regulations, thus promoting growth and enhancing the startup space in the country.
Parle-G, the most loved and the most widely recognized biscuit brand in India saw its sales sky rocketing during the past 2-3 months and made headlines for breaking its own eight-decade-old record for sales. The company said in an official statement that it has registered the best sales figures breaking the 82 year old record. Parle also gained a 5 % market share in the biscuit sector, which is a highly competitive one, during March, April and May of this year. These were the best months of their business since the company started.
Owing to the lockdown due to the Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic this year, people started stocking essential and easily available food items including the popular biscuit Parle – G. Other than this, many NGOs and Government Agencies bought many Parle – G packets for distribution of relief packages. These facts led to the large sales of the biscuit. The company itself distributed 3 crore packs as relief packages to the needy. The very affordable 5 Rupee packs came handy to many migrant workers and laborers who had to travel by foot to return to their native places.
Parle Registered its best growth in 30-40 years
Parle gained the highest growth rate among all the other biscuit brands. The growth rate increase is also its best growth rate of the last 40 years. The company also said that this type of growth is also previously experienced during other phases of crisis in the country like earthquakes and tsunamis when the sales of Parle – G went up exponentially.
Parle – G which is very popular from many decades is one of India’s oldest and best biscuit brands which has been serving constantly as people’s favorite tea time snack for many generations. It has also maintained the taste and quality during all these years. Known as ‘Bharat ka Apna Biscuit’, the biscuit company supports the #VocalForLocal campaign started by our Honorable Prime Minister. It was also declared the world’s largest selling biscuit brand by Nielsen in the year 2013.
The company currently has 130 factories in India of which 120 are currently producing continuously so that the biscuits are available at most of the retail stores.
Parle – G comes under the Rs 100 per Kg category which makes it affordable for everyone and makes it the popular choice for people during such desperate times.
Not only Parle- G, but many other biscuit brands have seen a massive growth in their sales during the lockdown. Biscuit brands such as Britannia’s Good Day and Parle’s Hide and Seek have also enjoyed the growth of sales during the past months.
Randeep Hooda’s Plea to Parle – G
Famous Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda after this news has tweeted about Parle – G asking them to end the use of plastic for its packaging which is badly affecting the nature. He requested the company to switch from plastic packaging to a biodegradable material.
In his own words, Randeep Hooda said, “My whole career is fuelled by chai and Parle-G since theater days. Can you imagine how much less single use plastic waste there will be if just Parle-G changed it’s packing to an alternate biodegradable material? Now the sales are up let’s see the contribution to a better Tom (tomorrow) too”
My whole career is feuled by chai and Parle-G since theater days.. Can you imagine how much less single use plastic waste there will be if just Parle-G changed its packing to an alternate biodegradable material? Now the sales are up let’s see the contribution to a better Tom too pic.twitter.com/mHdZhbr7X9
The actor who is known as a nature lover and has previously worked for this cause has come up with a very good suggestion for the company and which will also ben
As we look forward to the next normal, customers are already indicating a preference for companies who delivering contactless services by taking care of proper safety measures, reducing risk all along the customer journey. Companies are moving forward quickly to institute new policies that will allow them to resume their operations post COVID-19
As India is going into a recovery phase, all its companies are looking for ways to provide goods and services seamlessly to its customers keeping in mind the safety of both its customers as well as its employees. Here is what the big companies are planning to do to provide a contactless service to its customers.
1. McDonald’s
Westlife Development, the company that owns and operates McDonald’s restaurants in India has launched fully contactless take-outs in selected cities. The company stated that this move is aimed at providing a safe, hygienic, and convenient food take-outs for its customers who decide to step out of their homes to avail essential services. This contactless service delivered by McDonald’s allows its customers to place their take-out orders from their preferred stores ( nearest McDonald’s restaurant), pay online, and pick-up their order from the take-out counter on their way to home or work.
The company ensured that the entire process from placing the order till receiving the order will be completely safe, contactless, and with adequate social distancing at every step. The company was one of the first QSR brands to resume their services with contactless deliveries and are currently delivering out of more than 150 delivery hubs.
Open the McDonald’s app and select the take-out option.
Select the preferred store for the take-out ( nearest restaurant).
Order your meal and pay online.
Collect your order at the take-out counter at the restaurant
1. Swiggy-Zomato-Dunzo
The Directorate General of civil aviation (DCGA) has given permission to Swiggy, Zomato, and Dunzo to deliver the products to its customers using Drones. This will mark the first step in India’s plan to develop local drone-based services capabilities. This will set a benchmark for other companies as this will be the most appropriate method for contactless delivery. All these companies launched ‘contactless delivery’ in early March when India had less than 100 cases of the novel coronavirus. The companies continued their services throughout the pandemic with safety and hygiene measures being taken by their employees. As the cases in India have crossed lakhs and the fact that the virus’s impact is going to continue in the near future too, made these delivery startups to take the bold decision of serving its customers through drones.
“We will start flying in the first week of July and plan the clock around 120 hours of flights in two and a half months.”
said Nagendra Kandasamay, founder and director of Throttle Aerospace, which received approval from the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation in March along with Dunzo. India is looking at these experiments as a way to fast-pace its policies and preparing the local industrial sector to push into the drone service segment on a global basis.
Volume of drones in Amazon’s fleet from 2016-2020 (per 1000 people)
After four iterations of nationwide lockdown, the Indian government has lifted the restrictions from public transports as well. As public transportation services resume, Uber and Ola have come up with guidelines using which they will be rendering service to its customers in a ‘contactless’ way. With the fear of contagion of the virus being in the people’s minds, these companies have released guidelines using which a person can travel confidently. The things to be taken care of while using cabs are:
The driver should ensure that there are only two passengers traveling in the cab at a time
Wearing of masks is essential
Cab users can only occupy the back seats
Both Uber and Ola will need to discontinue their pooling services,i.e. Uber pool, and Ola pool
Cabs should be disinfected after every ride
Both the drivers and the customers should maintain hygiene inside the cab.
Keeping in mind the Government policies, Uber also issued some guidelines which were also reflected on the Uber app.
a) Checklists
The online checklist available on the app cross-checks that both the driver and the customer are taking required precautions before requesting/accepting the ride.
b) Mask Verification
Uber is urging the drivers to click a selfie with a mask on before accepting a ride and also allows the driver to cancel a request if they feel that the customer is not wearing a mask.
c) Free Cancellation
The updated policy for cancellation by the company now allows the passenger to cancel the ride anytime if they feel that precautions are not being taken by the driver. The driver has the same rights to cancel under such circumstances.
Similarly, Ola cabs have also taken such measures to ensure the safety of both its drivers as well as the customers.
Conclusion
As India struggles to get back the normalcy, the government, as well as the different sectors, are coming up with policies and guidelines for its citizens who do not have the luxury of staying at their homes and have to come out of their houses to do their respective jobs and duties.
As the fight against the contagious coronavirus continues, this world seems like a changed place. This pandemic is going to leave an everlasting effect on consumer behavior, with concerns shifting towards health and safety. Various guidelines have been published on how to continue with daily life without the fear of contracting the virus. This had made one thing clear- A contactless tomorrow is not just a remote possibility but is also a necessity. People are reassessing their ways of interacting with different organizations, demanding a whole new contactless experience. Here are a few practices that will help the business to ensure a contactless experience to it’s customers.
1. Contactless Deliveries
With the e-commerce organizations resuming their operations post this pandemic, consumers would feel safe with the deliveries only if it was contactless. Contactless deliveries can be executed in a myriad ways. It depends on the type of business, kind of item purchased, and environmental conditions of delivery. The organizations must be ahead of time in giving their customers a positive experience in a contactless market.
practice contactless delivery
i) Gaining Consumer Trust
The organization’s first step in such unprecedented times should be to ensure its customers about the safety measures being undertaken to give them a contactless experience. Different companies must have designed their own guidelines for different scenarios, but regardless of what those guidelines might be, expectations must be established with customers much ahead of time.
ii) Clear Communication
The business must maintain clear communication about the delivery,i.e. When, where, and how the item will be delivered. Unlike normal deliveries, contactless deliveries demand more transparency. There should be alerts when the order is processed, dispatched, or delivered. In other words, there are countless scenarios in which a business can respond to different situations. But the bottom line is that there must be clear communication and specificity between the business and the consumer.
Contactless payment is a way to pay for goods and services without using credit cards, debit cards, or hard cash. Normalcy in life is surely going to be hard to achieve post-pandemic. Unlike debit cards and credit cards, contactless payments never touch the point of sales thus making it one of the safest methods of payments for the current situation. thus, creating a contactless payment market would be a wise choice for all the businesses.
There are a number of ways in which proper contactless payments can be done with the help of some payment providers. Most of the organizations already use all such payment methods and for such businesses who were not using these payment methods much actively, this could be a great opportunity for introducing those features. The following are examples of different payment providers.
a) Apple Pay
Apple pay is a preprogrammed app called ‘wallet’ present on IOS mobile phones. There is no need of downloading any extra app because all of the transactions can be managed by apple pay itself. Users can feel secure using the app as it is one of the safest payment methods.
b) Samsung Pay
This contactless payment method is used py Samsung mobile users where one can carry all their debit cards, credit cards, or membership cards all in one place. It allows the user to pay online, in person, or in the app.
c) Google Pay
Google pay is another popular form of contactless payments used for users who do not have any in-built app on their mobile phones for online transactions. Users can feel confident as the transactions are protected with fingerprint, passwords, face-locks.
d) Paytm
Paytm helps the user to transfer money instantly at zero cost using the ‘Paytm wallet. This app can also be used for payments for online recharge, utility bill payments, book travel, or event tickets. The most appealing part about these payment methods is that the user gets gift coupons and vouchers regularly.
e) PhonePe
PhonePe is another famous contactless payment provider that ensures its users a seamless payment experience. Users can easily transfer money, pay utility bills, recharge phones, buy gold, and shop online as well as offline.
iii) Benefits of Contactless Payments
There are countless benefits of contactless payments not just in times like these. These payment methods, not just help the consumer but also allows the businesses in several ways.
a) It is More Secure than Regular Payment Methods
These are authenticated payment methods and are safer than regular transactions through debit and credit cards. The bank details provided by the user are encrypted which makes it hard to breach.
b) Quicker Checkouts
In this fast-tracked world, people want to get their work done faster. With contactless payments, you can speed up the check out process which benefits both the customer and the business. It rids you of returning the change and even saves you from entering pins of different devices.
c) It allows the Business to handle Customers smoothly
When a business reduces its time for completion of a transaction, it also attracts more customers. By providing contactless payments, a business can improve its customer experience and make them feel safe and confident in such hard times.
Conclusion
As we navigate this unprecedented crisis together, it’s important that all the sectors work together as a team. We hope that these research notes shed some light on the contactless customer experience.
On May 24 late night, the Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, along with former tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi, announced the launch of his new grooming and personal care brand FRSH. Salman Khan decided to launch a sanitizer as the first product under the brand considering the importance of hygiene and sanitization during the coronavirus pandemic.
Various governments and authorities are taking steps to contain the spread of coronavirus. Many celebrities, leaders, entrepreneurs are helping in their way to deal with the havoc caused by COVID-19. Some are rendering financial help while some are directly helping the affected. For instance, Kylie Jenner also announced that her brand would be manufacturing hand-sanitizers.
Amid the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, sanitizers are in great demand around the globe as sanitizing is a key to safeguard against the deadly disease. Coronavirus has infected over 54 lakh people and killed more than 3.45 lakh patients. Thus, the need for sanitizers has seen a boom since the coronavirus outbreak.
Addressing the need of the hour, Salman Khan announced in a video on social media about the launch of a new personal care and grooming brand named FRSH which is co-founded by former tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi. The brand FRSH is co-created by Scentials Beauty Care and Wellness Pvt. Ltd.
Salman Khan also owns an apparel brand under Being Human – The Salman Khan Foundation which is a charitable trust devoted to education and healthcare initiatives for the underprivileged in India.
Salman Khan said in his video, “I am launching my new grooming & personal care brand FRSH as it is very essential to do sanitization. Initially, we had planned to launch deodorants under the brand but as per the need of the hour, we are bringing sanitizers. After sanitizers, other products like deodorants, body wipes, and perfumes will also be launched under the brand.”
The brand has also launched its official website https://www.frshworld.com. According to the website frshworld.com, currently, the frsh sanitizers are 72 percent alcohol-based to provide protection from the infection. The frsh sanitizers are available at its official website but later it will be available at stores. The products will also be available at various stores across the country once the supply begins Currently, people can buy the products from this official website at discounted prices.
FRSH sanitizers are 72% Alcohol based
The website frshworld.com shares an important message, “There are millions of germs and viruses out there that can make you ill and intercept you from life and career goals. Personal hygiene here plays a very important role. Maintaining good hygiene results in better health, of the body and the mind. And it all begins with your hands. Your hands are the busiest tools of your body. Germs on your hands can easily enter your body through your mouth, nose, eyes, or ears during your daily activities.
Hence it’s vital to keep them clean and sanitized always. Clean/sanitize objects that one may come in contact with, dispose of waste effectively, and use gloves when needed. In times like these, a little extra precaution goes a long way in ensuring the wellbeing of you and your entire family. FRSH world encourages you to sanitize! RAHO FRSH, RAHO SAFE!”
According to frshworld.com website, we can buy sanitizers in a pack of 2, 3, 5, 8, and 10. The prices of frsh sanitizer are: A 100 ml bottle of sanitizer is priced at Rs 50 and a 500 ml bottle of sanitizer costs Rs. 250. However, if one goes for combo sets, there will be discounts from 10 percent to 20 percent as per the website. A combo pack of 10 bottled consisting of 100 ml costs Rs. 400.
In the video post, Khan giving the logic behind this, says, “FRSH is spelled as F-R-S-H. If ‘there’ can be substituted with ‘thr’ then why cannot we substitute ‘fresh’ with ‘FRSH’.” After talking about the need for sanitization, Khan told that after a few days they will launch other products like deodorants, body wipe, and perfumes. He also talked about how the quality of FRSH is and that the prices will be affordable.
Salman Khan always releases his films on the occasion of Eid. But this year, due to COVID-19 lockdown, film releases and film shoots have been put on a hold. However, Khan from a new launch as he decided to make the most of this opportunity and gave his fans FRSH. Khan said that considering the need of the hour, sanitizer is more important than deodorants and perfumes.
Salman Khan actively posts videos on his social media handles to raise awareness about the importance of social distancing and personal hygiene. The actor has been utilizing his time during the lockdown to create awareness about the pandemic with the help of new music. Frsh sanitizer by Salman Khan is one such effort by the actor.
Needless to mention, Coronavirus has affected every aspect of human life. To contain the spread of the virus, many precautions are being taken at different levels. Many countries like India have declared lockdown to cope with the situation. While the delivery of essential services has been allowed, the supply chain is still struggling to cope with the security measures. India’s 21-day lockdown may have thrown up an opportunity for online grocers to shine, but the rest of the industry sectors is drowning in the Covid-19 tsunami.
But beyond this, the real economic impact from the coronavirus pandemic will come in the weeks and months to come. Many large companies are also helpless in this time, yet they are trying to manage things. But this pandemic has left small businesses & startups with no more option but to downsize & layoff.
Layoffs and downsizing in the startup ecosystem are set to accelerate as businesses take a hard look at high operational costs and dipping demand in an uncertain environment made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, India has banned entry of all foreign nationals till May 17 with exceptions, such as diplomatic visa. This means that international firms have to put their business plans on hold.
Coronavirus have some far-reaching consequences – besides killing human beings, this deadly virus can result into unprecedented economic recession. However this will have more impact on startups than on bigger firms. Last couple of quarters has seen startups laying off thousands of employees.
Indian startups and SMEs(small and medium-sized enterprises) have begun evaluating their options to cut spending as demand for their products and services has taken a massive hit due to the Covid-19 outbreak as startups are finding it difficult to raise funds.
Nearly, 71% of businesses have seen reduced demand. The firms are also looking to cut spending on marketing and advertising, tech infrastructure, commercial rentals and employee costs to survive during this tough time.
Layoffs increased in Startups since COVID-19 Outbreak
Many sectors are greatly affected due to COVID-19. The sector, especially startups, is likely to see more layoffs if the virus outbreak continues to cause havoc. In this, travel industry, startups, IT firms seem to be the first casualty. For India’s venture capital industry, 2019 was a milestone year with $10 billion deployed into overall startups, that saw a 55% jump from 2018, according to Bain & Company, highlighting how the industry grew amid global economic uncertainty.
But now this situation is taking another turn; layoffs have already started happening. Rituparna Charkraborty, co-founder, Teamlease Services, a staffing firm, told that as demand slows down, it will impact startups and might result in layoff. She explained that unlike bigger firms, they don’t have deep pockets and have to be frugal.
Travel Startups
India’s biggest travel portal: MakeMyTrip has decided to lay off 350 employees as its business has been affected severely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. MakeMyTrip has told employees that MMT has analysed impact closely and has spent considerable time figuring out the path to business recovery. Founder Deep Kalra and CEO Rajesh Magow sent out a letter to all employees informing them about the layoff.
Kalra and Magow have writtten in their letter, “What’s evident is that the impact of COVID-19 crisis is going to be long drawn for us. It’s unclear when traveling will become a way of life, as it was pre-COVID-19. We are living through extraordinary times that have impacted individuals, communities, businesses, countries and our world at a magnitude unknown before and there is no let-up in sight.”
MakeMyTrip promised to offer support to laid-off employees compensation including Mediclaim coverage for individuals and their families till the end of the year, leave encashment, gratuity, retaining the right to exercise part of RSUs as applicable. Employees can keep the company laptops and will be provided outplacement support apart from salary payments as per their notice periods.
At the same time, MakeMyTrip’s associated companies like GoIbibo and Redbus can fire 60% of their contractual employees due to decreasing demand. There are 650 such contractual employees in these three companies. Majority of them are working in customer service and backend support.
Travel & Hospitality service Startups
Airbnb also plans to lay off nearly one-fourth of its employees. The 25% of the company includes nearly 1,900 employees who will be laid off. According sources, the news would be broken to employees by CEO Brian Chesky.
CEO of Airbnb,Brian Chesky stated in his memo, “Airbnb’s business has been hit hard due to COVID-19, with revenue this year forecasted to be less than half of what we earned in 2019. We are collectively living through the most harrowing crisis of our lifetime, and as it began to unfold, global travel came to a standstill.”
Chesky told that prior to the layoffs, Airbnb had 7,500 employees. Airbnb will halt projects related to hotels, a transportation division and luxury stays for some time. But Chesky has assured that laid off employees would get some facilities from company’s side.
Chesky said that U.S. employees laid off will receive 14 weeks of base pay plus an additional week for every year they worked at Airbnb. The company will also provide 12 months of healthcare for laid off U.S. employees. He also mentioned that May 11 will be the last work day for impacted Airbnb employees in the U.S. and Canada.
Similarly, around 5000 Oyo employees will be laid off across the world due to coronavirus outbreak. Oyo Hotels is laying off staff in the U.S., China and India as the company tries to find its way to profitability in turbulent times.
Oyo expanded rapidly after its founding in 2013 and reached a valuation of $10 billion but investors have soured on money-losing businesses after WeWork’s meltdown and SoftBank has pushed portfolio companies to prioritise profitability.
The travel and hospitality service company TravelTriangle has laid off about 50% of its workforce in the past 10 days. “TravelTriangle has fired about 250-300 people since March 20,” said one of the sources. Impacted employees are from operations, marketing, customer support and business development functions.
In addition to this list, corporate travel planning company TripActions, that was valued at $4 billion last year, laid off 350 employees via Zoom. The reports state the layoffs consist of about one-quarter to one-fifth of the total company. The company said in a statement, “We’ve cut back on all non-essential spend and made the very difficult decision to reduce our global workforce due to pandemic.”
Online Food Delivery startups
On May 18, Bengaluru-based food delivery startup Swiggy announced that it will lay off 1,100 employees and shut down some of its businesses as the coronavirus continues to take its toll. The core food delivery business has been severely impacted and will stay impacted over the short term.
Co-founder & CEO of Swiggy, Sriharsha Majety stated, “While we are very fortunate to have raised capital just before Covid-19 hit and have sufficient runway today, it is incredibly important to prepare for worse scenarios in the macro environment and make sure we are protected.”
Swiggy will give at least three months of salary to all impacted employees. For every year spent by the employee, they will be paid an additional month’s salary. Along with this, Swiggy plans to provide medical insurance for impacted employees until 31 December, 2020, as well as career transition and access to free learning on Linkedin for upskilling. Moreover, it has allowed the staff to retain office laptops and communication allowance for the next three months.
Similarly, Gurugram based Food delivery platform Zomato decided to layoff 520 employees which is 13% of its workforce. Also it will temporarily cut salaries of the rest as the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant nationwide lockdown has hit its businesses, Zomato’s Founder & CEO Deepinder Goyal said in the email on May 15.
Deepinder Goyal said in his mail, “Our business has been severely affected by the COVID lockdowns. A large number of restaurants have already shut down permanently, and we know that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I expect the number of restaurants to shrink by 25-40% over the next 6-12 months.”
As compensation, the laid-off employees will receive half of their salaries along with health insurance for the next six months or till they find another job. Goyal also said that the company will provide impacted employees outplacement support to find jobs.
Cab Services Startups
Uber, American ride-hailing Mnc, announced on May 6, that it will lay off 3,700 employees which is about 14% of its total workforce. Also CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will forgo his base salary for the rest of the year as COVID-19 has crushed the travel industry because of lockdowns to stop the spread of the virus.
Uber has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Uber’s global gross bookings are down by 80%, according to reports. The company is set to lay off up to 700 people that is about 25-30% of its overall workforce in India as per sources. Uber has over 2,000 employees in India. The decision has been almost final and likely to be announced when lockdown will get lifted.
On May 18, Uber’s CEO, Khosrowshahi told employees Uber will lay off an additional 3,000 employees and close 45 offices globally. As part of the layoffs, Uber is expected to pay up to $145 million to employees via severance and other benefits, and up to $80 million in order to shut down offices, according to a filing with the SEC.
CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi said, “We are looking at many scenarios and at each and every cost, both variable and fixed, across the company. We want to be smart, to move fast, to retain as many of our great people as we can, and treat everyone with dignity, support and respect.”
On May 20, Indian ride hailing unicorn Ola said that it will lay off 1,400 staff which makes about 35 % of its workforce due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Ola’s CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said in a note to employees that COVID-19 has led to a drop of 95 per cent in Ola’s revenues in two months. The impact of the crisis will be long-drawn for Ola. Every affected employee will receive a minimum financial pay of 3 months of their fixed salary.
Similarly, other Cab service companies are also facing the heat as more people avoid taking public transport and cabs and have started working from home. Pravin Agarwala, co-founder of The Better Place, a blue-collar management firm, said cab aggregators are already witnessing drop in demand and this drop would go up to 30-40 % if the same situation continues.
Drivezy, a self-drive car rentals platform, has also cut part of its workforce to stay afloat, according ET’s report. Moreover, B2B platform Udaan has cut back on ground staff over the last few months at its pharmaceuticals and fresh division, according to four employees at the firm.
Scooter Rental Startups
Electric-scooter startup Bird said it is laying off nearly a third of its workforce to survive damage done to its service by the coronavirus pandemic. Bird has already paused shared scooter operations in many markets around the world and drastically cut spending and is now “laying off” 30 % of its workforce, founder and chief executive Travis VanderZanden said in a memo to employees.
In the same way, scooter sharing app Bounce has begun laying off hundreds of employees across functions and levels. At Bounce, the job cuts are across verticals and levels, operations staff, call centre, and technology and product according to reports.
Number of Layoffs is likely to Increase more due to Covid-19
Startups are Terminating the Hiring plans
Apart of layoffs, some of India’s top companies have also stopped hiring plans and are moving talent internally. Meanwhile recruitment firms have announced that processes of hiring have dropped by 50%, as interviews are being cancelled. Meanwhile recruitment agencies are informing that Indian startups also have cancelled upto 50% of all hiring and interviews with layoffs going on parallel.
Bengaluru-based firm Rupeek, which operates an online marketplace for gold loans, has terminated a human resource contract with Aasaanjobs, a recruitment marketplace for blue and grey-collar jobs. This will allegedly indirectly impact 600 jobs. Rupeek told it won’t renew the contract with the human resource contractors and reduce the number of outsourced staff in the current economic environment.
Rupeek said in a statement. “Considering current business and economic environment, we had to take the unfortunate decision of not renewing our contract with our human resource contractors & the consequent reduction in the number of outsourced staff. We regret the unfortunate timing of this event. To protect their interests, we are offering a generous severance package over and above contractual dues.”
Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, a staffing agency said, “Almost 50% of ongoing interviews, new requirements, on-boardings have stopped for the last two weeks now, particularly in the IT sector.” He also added that close to 25 captives opened in India last year and hired close to 5,000 people. However, this number is likely to come down as the coronavirus has made the execution a challenge.
According to experts, most firms have delayed the hiring process by 4-6 weeks. Appraisal hikes may also see a 2-3 % drop as well this year. In addition, with sectors across under stress, performance pressure will also be high, leading to more layoffs, said the experts.
Due to this laying off process going on all over the world, the United States, Europe, China and India are experiencing slowing economic activity that analysts predict will likely last through at least two quarters. India’s stock market has already taken a beating over the last week, and the pressure has now trickled down to private markets as well. India’s GDP growth slowed from 2.5% to 5.3% since the crisis began.
To add to that, the coronavirus outbreak has emerged as a new threat to the global economy and Indian manufacturing. India is currently in its fourth week since the first batch of Covid-19 positive cases were identified. The startup ecosystem in India has taken a major hit and entrepreneurs are trying to figure out how to run their operations by cutting costs in trying to stay afloat.
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed many struggling companies into bankruptcy. Stay-at-home orders have forced many nonessential businesses to close as the demand has fallen massively. The number of bankruptcy filings has risen sharply with little revenue coming in. According to report from American Bankruptcy Institute, bankruptcy filings have risen by 26% from last year.
COVID-19 has led to disruptions of many industries. The economic slowdown caused by novel coronavirus has forced many startups and SMBs to shut because of the limited resources, revenue, capital and high debt prior to the pandemic. Not only this, many big companies are also gradually being pushed towards the bankruptcy.
The result is that it has increased layoffs across many industries. Huge number of people have been laid off resulting into unemployment. For the last two months, 36.5 million people have filed for jobless benefits. This all ultimately resulting into economic crisis.
Unable to cope with the loss, not only startups but many established firms are left with option but file the bankruptcy. The companies filing bankruptcy are mostly from aviation industry i.e. airlines, clothing lines and oil & gas companies. Some of them are big players like Virgin Australia, Neiman Marcus, J.Crew, Diamond Offshore Drilling and Whiting Petroleum.
Here are some of the major companies dealing with the financial fallout due to COVID-19.
Diamond Offshore Drilling
On April 26, the contract drilling services company, Diamond Offshore filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Houston-based company provides contract drilling services to the energy industry around the globe. But it filed bankruptcy due to low oil demand and the price war between OPEC and Russia as it caused its business to decline amid the coronavirus outbreak
Diamond Offshore has $5.8 billion of assets and debts of more than $2.6Bn. The company filed bankruptcy 10 days after it missed an interest payment on $500Mn worth of bonds and said it was working with advisers on various options for its future. The company also recently drew down $400 million under a revolving credit facility.
In 2019, Diamond Offshore reported revenue of $981 Mn. The company had employed 2,500 workers at the end of last year. According to company’s statement, Diamond Offshore currently has enough capital about $435 million of cash on hand to continue normal operations as it undergoes restructuring efforts.
Virgin Australia
On April 21, Australia’s second-biggest airline Virgin Australia became the world’s largest airline to seek bankruptcy protection since the coronavirus shutdown created a debt crisis. The COVID-19 has affected the travel industry as airlines seek government due to restrictions on travel.
Virgin Australia was rejected for a 1.4 billion Australian dollar ($897 million) government loan before entering into the Australian equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. However, Virgin Australia was struggling even before the corona crisis. It has been suffering an annual loss for seven consecutive years.
The company currently has debt of AU$5 billion ($3.2 billion). On the other hand, more than 10 parties have expressed interest in restructuring the company. Founder of Virgin Group and major shareholder of Virgin Australia, Sir Richard Branson stated that the company would work towards proper steps to make Virgin Australia healthy again.
Virgin Australia constitutes share of around one-third of Australia’s domestic airline market. The company employs 10,000 people directly and 6,000 people indirectly. If the company ceased operations, its rival Qantas Airways would have a virtual monopoly.
Frontier Communications
On April 14, the national phone and the high-speed internet company Frontier Communications initiated its bankruptcy proceedings by filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. The company announced that it was proceeding with the sale of its Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana operations and assets to Northwest Fiber for around $1.35 billion in cash.
The company made its restructuring plan to reduce its debt by more than $10 billion. It has also received $460 million in debtor-in-possession financing. Frontier has more than $1.1 billion in liquidity including the company’s more than $700 million revenue in cash. Also the DIP financing will help it meet operational needs.
With this financing, the company plans to continue providing quality service. Frontier has fiber-optic and copper networks in 29 states. The company said it had $8.1 billion in annual revenue in 2019, according to an SEC filing.
Gold’s Gym
On May 4, one of the most popular fitness chains Dallas-based Gold’s Gym filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the country’s bankruptcy code. Gold’s Gym plans to permanently close around 30 company-owned gyms but its franchised locations will reopen as coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
The company said in a statement that the move has been taken in an effort to facilitate the financial restructuring of the company. Due to lockdowns imposed in many countries to contain the spread of COVID-19, gyms are forced to remain shut during this period. Thus, it has become difficult for them to continue their operations.
The company expects to emerge from bankruptcy by August 1. The company said that has been a complete and total disruption of every one of their business norms. So they needed to take quick, decisive actions to enable them to get back on track. Gold’s Gym was bought in 2004 by TRT Holdings for $158 million.
Many businesses filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 due to COVID-19
Intelsat
On May 13, the satellite operator Intelsat announced that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company reported almost $15 billion in debt at the end of 2019 and started struggling when it skipped a $125 million interest payment in April. Intelsat had revenue of $2.1 billion at the end of 2019.
Intelsat provides satellite services to customers in the media and government sectors but because of because of coronavirus crisis, the company saw significant reductions in demand that eventually led to filing of bankruptcy. However, it secured $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing to help provide liquidity during the restructuring process.
J.Crew
On May 4, the New York apparel company J.Crew filed for bankruptcy after struggling with declining sales and huge debt. The retailer had roughly $2.5 billion in annual sales. The company faced low demand as all its locations were forced to close temporarily to contain the spread of Covid-19.
J.Crew tried to lower some of its debt burden by taking its more successful Madewell brand public. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, J.Crew’s lenders will convert around $1.65 billion of its debt into equity. The retailer also secured $400 million financing from current lenders in order to continue its operations during its restructuring.
Another menswear brand John Varvatos filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 6 as part of an agreement to sell all of its business and assets to British private equity firm Lion Capital. John Varvatos stated that along with the rest of the luxury retail industry, it has been greatly impacted by the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak has forced the company to temporarily close its stores.
As part of the sale agreement, Lion Capital will provide debtor-in-possession financing that will help support John Varvatos operations when combined with its projected cash flows. Lion Capital was already an investor in John Varvatos. It had purchased a majority stake in the company in 2012.
Stage Stores
On May 10, Stage Stores, which operates department stores under brands such as Gordmans, Bealls and Goody’s, filed for bankruptcy and is now terminating its operations. According to a company statement,it is looking for potential buyers of its business and assets,
Earlier Stage Stores struggled with competing against large-scale retailers as well as e-commerce sellers. Then, the pandemic burdened the retailer by causing Stage Stores to temporarily close all of its 738 locations. For reconstruction, the retailer is now in the process of beginning to reopen stores to conduct liquidation sales.
Stage Stores operates the chains in mostly rural areas across 42 states. The company had roughly 13,600 full-time and part-time employees as of February 2019 and reported revenue of $1.58 billion in sales in the last fiscal year.
True Religion Apparel
On April 13, True Religion Apparel, an American denim retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in less than three years. The company has struggled in recent years with competition from other retailers. With the retail industry hard hit by the coronavirus, True Religion stated that simply could not afford to wait out the financial instability and stay-at-home restrictions.
ABL and Term Loan are the company’s largest lenders. They are providing more capital to help with its restructuring. True Religion had assets and liabilities ranging from $100 million to $500 million. Until its stores open up, the company plans to continue focusing on its e-commerce sales. True Religion was taken private when it was bought by investment management firm TowerBrook Capital Partners in 2013.
Ultra Petroleum
On April 30, the energy company, Ultra Petroleum filed for bankruptcy for the second time and agreed to a balance-sheet restructuring with its creditors. Ultra Petroleum previously entered Chapter 11 proceedings in 2016. Ultra Petroleum has approximately debt of $2 billion as of Dec. 31 and business disruption from the coronavirus has caused the bankruptcy.
Ultra Petroleum secured financing of up to $25 million through the restructuring agreement and a revolving credit facility with an initial borrowing base of $100 million from lenders. The company said it will be able to eliminate $2 billion in debt. Ultra Petroleum’s operations are primarily focused on natural gas reserves in Wyoming. The company had $742 million in revenue for 2019.
Whiting Petroleum
On April 1, the oil and gas company, Whiting Petroleum filed for bankruptcy because of the Saudi-Russia price war and the drop in oil demand driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. Both of these factors contributed to its decision to file for bankruptcy according to Whiting Petroleum.
The officials said the company plans to convert more than $2.3 billion in senior notes into new equity which would account for 97% of the reorganized company’s ownership. Whiting will also provide payment in full of its revolving credit facility and expects to be out of Chapter 11 proceedings within five months.
The company said it has $585 million of cash on its balance sheet and will continue normal business operations. Whiting’s business is situated in the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S. It has its largest projects in North Dakota and Colorado. Whiting’s market valuation fell from its peak $15 billion to $32 million in 2011.
Chesapeake Energy
The oil and gas company is reportedly preparing a bankruptcy filing after its business took a hit from the Saudi-Russia price war and declining demand for oil amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Oklahoma City-based company was once at the forefront of the U.S. shale boom.
The company was burdened with $9 billion in debt even before the pandemic and price war. Chesapeake is in talks to secure $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing that would help it fund operations and is considering skipping a $192 million payment due in August. It also faces a July 1 payment of $136 million.
Founded in 1989, Chesapeake has operations in five U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana. It employed about 2,300 people as of the end of 2019.
Hertz
The car rental company Hertz doubts its ability to continue as a going concern which indicates that it is on verge of bankruptcy. The company’s executives have been trying to postpone the roughly $500 million payment. Yet, it has secured debt restructuring advisers and is preparing for negotiations with creditors over its $17 billion in debt.
The car rental industry has been affected severely due to coronavirus pandemic. Hertz had laid off 10,000 people amid the crisis, incurring employee termination costs of $30 million. The Estero, Florida-based company is now working with restructuring experts at law firm White & Case and investment bank Moelis & Co. in order to address its debt issues.
JC Penney
On May 15, J. C. Penney Company Inc., with its Chapter 11 filing, became the largest retailer in the United States to file for bankruptcy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Plano, Texas-based company is facing numerous challenges like declining sales and nearly $4 billion in debt. Most of J.C. Penney’s stores have been closed since March 18 because of the coronavirus.
JC Penney had skipped a $12 million interest payment due on April 15 and a $17 million due on May 7. Upon missing the first payment, the company entered a 30-day grace period “in order to evaluate certain strategic alternatives. J.C. Penney plans to secure about $450 million to fund its operations in bankruptcy.
The company operates about 850 stores in the U.S. and employs nearly 90,000 workers. However, the retailer may have to permanently close 200 of these stores as part of its bankruptcy process. Penney saw total net sales for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 1 fall 7.7% to $3.38 billion from last year.
American luxury department store Lord & Taylor is also preparing for bankruptcy and plans to liquidate inventory in its 38 department stores once restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 are lifted according to reports. The retailer braces for a bankruptcy process and does not expect to survive the bankruptcy process.
Lord & Taylor, billed as the oldest in the United States, was founded in 1826 and once a major retailer in the U.S. But then it struggled to compete with other rivals such as Macy’s and TJX Companies which operates TJ Maxx and Marshalls. Department stores in general have faced challenges from online retailers and consumers purchasing less apparel.
Le Tote, owner of Lord & Taylor, owes $23.53 million to Hudson’s Bay Company after buying the retailer from the Canadian department store chain for CA$100 million in 2019. Hudson’s Bay maintained possession of some of Lord & Taylor’s real estate and took on responsibility for its rent payments. The company could use a bankruptcy filing to take some of its leases back from Lord & Taylor.
Yash Taneja
