Press Briefing: How Can Retail Survive COVID-19?
MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact:
MacKenzie Babb
Kenan Institute External Affairs Director
919.632.6641
MacKenzie_Babb@kenan-flagler.unc.edu
Chapel Hill, N.C. (April 27, 2020) — A panel of experts convened by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and its affiliated Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise will be offering a press briefing via webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on traditional retail, including product supply chains, innovative new channels for customer fulfillment and the resulting implications for commercial real estate. Join tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28, at 11 a.m. EDT to hear from the following experts:
Leonard W. Wood Center for Real Estate Studies Faculty Advisor Professor Andra Ghent will provide a macroeconomic overview of retail employment, current jobless claims and consumer sales.
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor Katrijn Gielens will cover how COVID-19 is affecting retailers’ efforts to shift from brick and mortar to online services, as well as the ways in which store formats will need to adapt to address emerging consumer demands moving forward.
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor Adam Mersereau will discuss the short- and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on supply chains, as some retailers struggle to keep up with demand while others deal with massive overages in supply. He’ll also touch on experimentation with consumer fulfillment driven by the pandemic, including which innovations may be here to stay.
Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) Research Director Greg MacKinnon will provide his insights on the impact COVID-19 has and will continue to have on commercial real estate—including the challenges facing communities and municipal governments working to creatively re-purpose shopping malls and other traditional retail spaces while lacking needed funds due to the crisis.
Each speaker will provide a brief overview from his or her respective area of expertise, citing applicable emerging research and data, before the floor is opened for questions from the press. For a link to participate, email MacKenzie Babb.
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About the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
The Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise develops and promotes innovative, market-based solutions to vital economic issues. With the belief that private enterprise is the cornerstone of a prosperous and free society, the institute fosters the entrepreneurial spirit to stimulate economic prosperity and improve the lives of people in North Carolina, across the country and around the world. Learn more at kenaninstitute.unc.edu.
For more information, contact:
MacKenzie Babb, External Affairs Director MacKenzie_Babb@kenan-flagler.unc.edu
