COVID-19 response technology must be “non-discriminatory, effective, voluntary, secure, accountable, and used exclusively for public health purposes,” more than 80 advocacy groups said Thursday. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and New America’s Open Technology Institute signed a set of principles to “guide employers, policymakers, businesses, and public health authorities” while reopening society. Decision-makers should “be mindful of the risks of overreach and unintended consequences, especially to marginalized communities already suffering disproportionately from the virus and economic hardships,” the groups wrote.
Five Below began reopening stores April 21 and now has about 90% of its 920 locations back in business in 36 states, said CEO Joel Anderson on a fiscal Q1 call Tuesday. The retailer sells kids-targeted headphones and tech accessories, most priced for under $5. It began closing stores days after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11. Same-store sales at the reopened locations are “tracking” about 8% higher for Q2 ending early August, he said. The company is “very encouraged by the strong early performance” but worries the momentum won’t last, he said. “Significant stimulus dollars began to hit bank accounts in mid-April, and there's likely some level of pent-up demand that is also being reflected in our current performance.” With all stores closed for most of the second half of Q1 ended May 2, total sales were down 45%, said Anderson. Same-store sales were down 52%. E-commerce sales were four times higher than in the 2019 quarter, but “this level of growth has moderated as stores have reopened,” he said. The stock closed 9.4% higher Wednesday at $113.67.
The Library of Congress canceled all public events until Sept. 1, the LOC announced Wednesday, citing COVID-19. Buildings and facilities remain closed.
Subscription-based businesses are more “resilient” to COVID-19's economic downturn than companies that had to endure supply chain disruptions, reported Zuora. It compared the subscriber acquisition metrics of 700 businesses before and after the pandemic struck in March and found 53.3% had limited impact, while 22.5% had subscriber growth accelerate. Relatively few had subscription growth slowing (12.8%) or contracting (11.4%), said Zuora. Over-the-top video streaming companies had the most growth, up sevenfold in March compared with the growth rate over the previous 12 months, it said. “As people shelter-at-home, streaming services for entertainment have seen a spike in subscription growth.” Consumer IoT is experiencing a slowdown, said the report. Growth there in March was a third of that in the previous year, it said. Consumers under lockdown mandates were “not rushing to buy” IoT devices and services, and companies in the sector “are seeing a decline in subscription sign-ups,” it said.
COVID-19 forced cancellation of NAB Show New York, set for Oct. 21-22 at the Javits Convention Center, said the association Tuesday. It will be replaced with an all-digital event in the fall similar to NAB Show Express, it said. “This decision follows extensive surveying of our show community and consultation with state and local official." The trade group is still planning in-person events for the 2021 NAB Show and NAB Show New York, it said. The Javits show is the third in-person event NAB was forced to scrap this year due to the pandemic. It canceled the Las Vegas NAB Show March 11 (see 2003110036) and the NAB Radio Show in Nashville last week (see 2006030060). Complications for the Javits show emerged in April after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced he asked President Donald Trump to keep the facility deployed as an COVID-19 Army field hospital through the fall flu season (see 2004280001).
Movado has reopened 14 of its 47 company-owned stores in North America and expects 41 to be open by June 17, said CEO Efraim Grinberg on a fiscal Q1 call Tuesday. The quarter ended April 30. Sales at the 14 reopened stores are down 10.6% from a year earlier, which is better performance than Movado expected, he said. “We’re seeing that consumers like to shop and they’re coming to our stores,” he said. “While traffic is generally down about 40% in those stores, we’re seeing higher conversion rates and higher average transactions. When people are going into stores, they’re really going with the thought of buying.” The company also made executive moves (see personals section, this issue).
Q1's churn rate for over-the-top video services was 41%, reported Parks Associates Monday. A March survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households showed 76% subscribed to an OTT video service, and 62% to a traditional pay-TV service. OTT services filled in the gap created by theater closures during the COVID-19 pandemic by adding new releases and extending free trials, noted analyst Steve Nason: It's unclear whether growth will be sustainable as lockdowns ease, “or if the OTT industry needs to adjust again to new viewing patterns." Of the 41% of households that trialed an OTT service, 69% adopted at least one, Nason said. "New trial offers can be successful in attracting new users, but as competition increases and household budgets shrink, providers will need to explore new service models, such as making a portion of content free or offering discounts to longer-commitment subscriptions.”
Best Buy is opening several New York City stores Tuesday under its appointment-only, in-store consultation protocol, said the website's store locator Monday. New York City Best Buy stores in Union Square, Chelsea, Atlantic Center, the Upper East Side, Gateway Brooklyn and Kings Plaza-Brooklyn, closed since last week, were said to be opening at noon Tuesday. Best Buy stores in Midtown and Broadway NoHo -- shown being looted in June 1 YouTube videos on rioting over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis -- don't have an opening date. An outgoing message at stores said Monday: “Due to circumstances out of our control, our store is currently closed.” The message directed customers to the website for online shopping. There, customers who were looking for the weekly Best Buy ad saw: “This is the new place to find the latest offers,” with prices valid through Thursday. The retailer encourages customers to book store appointments “at least 1 to 2 days in advance” so the store can contact customers with a “pre-call” to discuss product needs and safety procedures. No pre-call will be made for same-day appointments, it says. The retailer uses BestBuy.com pricing for in-store consultations and says shoppers should download the app for use in store. The retailer didn't respond to questions.
COVID-19's impact on major U.S. retail container ports “appears to be easing slightly,” reported the National Retail Federation Monday. Projected imports through September are still expected to remain below 2019 levels but not as low as forecast a month ago, it said: “It may still be too soon to say, but we’ll take that as a sign that the situation could be slowly starting to improve. Consumers want to get back to shopping, and as more people get back to work, retailers want to be sure their shelves are stocked.” U.S. ports handled 1.61 million 20-foot-long cargo containers or their equivalents in April, said NRF. That was down 7.8% from a year earlier, but up 17% from the four-year low in March and significantly better than the 1.51 million containers previously forecast. NRF estimates ports handled 1.58 million containers in May, down 14.6% year over year, but up from the 1.47 million containers forecast a month ago. It’s forecasting June port activity will be 1.56 million containers handled, which would be down 12.9% from 2019 but up from the previous forecast of 1.46 million.
The FTC sent warning letters to six multilevel marketing companies to remove and address online and social media posts claiming their products can treat or prevent COVID-19. The warnings also addressed claims about “the earnings people who have recently lost income can make, or both.” The agency sent warnings to Isagenix International, Juice Plus+, Melaleuca, Youngevity International, Vivri USA and Plexus Worldwide. Letters tell the companies to “notify the FTC within 48 hours about the specific actions they have taken to address the agency’s concerns.” Melaleuca General Counsel Aaron Eddington emailed: "The FTC was absolutely right in bringing this to our attention. The posts in question violate several of Melaleuca’s policies and the Marketing Executive’s contract with Melaleuca has been terminated." The other companies didn’t comment.