Most people in the UK are worried about catching coronavirus and the impact this nasty pandemic will have on their lives. Already shelves are being emptied faster than they can be stocked in the main supermarkets. Items like pasta, toilet rolls and hand sanitiser are more sought after than gold. Of course, the bottom feeders have gotten in on the panic buying up stock and reselling it for inflated prices on the likes of Ebay and Amazon. The panic has now infected the vaping market with vapers worried they might not be able to get hold of their much needed nicotine liquid.
If the UK Government follows the policies of the EU countries like Austria, France, Spain, Italy and others who have put in place strict social distancing quarantines to avert the spread of Coronavirus then at some point vape shops will, like other shops, have to close. This closure could last from 2 weeks up to a month. No one really knows. But, if the rumours coming out of the Government are to be listened to, it is definitely going to happen. Vapers have been flocking to our shop offline and online buying in bulk over the last week to get ready for a period of isolation and shop closure.
The Costs Of Coronavirus Vape Shop Closure
The impact of shop closure, imposed by the Government as a way to combat the spread of Coronavirus, on a lot of small vape businesses in the UK is going to be fatal. Most of these small vape businesses can take a few days, possibly even a week of non-trading but if it extends into a month or two? What then? These small vape shops will still have to pay rent, rates and other bills regardless of whether their shops are closed. We are hoping that along with the order to close, the Government will also offer financial support such as rate free and possibly rent free periods during the imposed closures.
Act Now, Overdrafts & Short Term Loans
As for The Vape Shop and other main businesses that have a thriving online presence our businesses will take a small knock but we can weather the storm generating income through online ordering and cash flow. Cash flow is King in an emergency like this and only the businesses with access to cash flow, and an online business model, will come through generally unscathed. If, as a vape business, you don’t have much cash flow or an online presence that produces income it would be advisable to seek out help from the banks to arrange overdrafts or short term loans to cover the period of the next few months or you may go bust through no fault of your own.
Forward Thinking & Planning
Unfortunately this pandemic could not be foreseen, apart from the Author Dean Koontz who wrote a fiction novel in the 1980’s about the Coronavirus epidemic released in China. Titled ‘The Eyes of Darkness’, the book revolves around a grieving mother investigating the mysterious circumstances of her son’s death, is a peculiar reference to a killer virus known as “Wuhan-400”. Creepy I know! So apart from Dean Koontz no one else saw it coming but we all must deal with it the best way we can, and forward thinking and planning can save lots of vape businesses from having to close permanently.
Business As Usual For The Vape Shop
Our online business www.TheVapeShop.co.uk will be operating as normal throughout any quarantine procedures ensuring all our customers can receive their vape juice and products the next day delivered to their door. So, there is no real need to panic.
