How Retailers Can Plan for an Emergency
By Robert Price |
When Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, it became the new worst-case scenario of emergency preparedness.
Few disasters rival the scale of Katrina's destruction. The storm caused levee breaks and floods that destroyed communications, ruined homes and businesses, immobilized the population, sickened and killed thousands, and made hundreds of thousands of people instantly destitute. Businesses in New Orleans lost billions of dollars in revenue and thousands were forced to declare bankruptcy. |
Disasters like Katrina, Hurricane Juan that slammed Halifax, the Quebec ice storm, B.C. forest fires and the Ontario blackout of 2004, all remind us of the fixed nature of the retail business. When disasters strike, there's no way to move your store out of the path of destruction. All retailers can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Here are some practical tips to help you prepare an emergency plan for your store. |
SIZE UP DISASTERS
"Know what you're going to do before you're in crisis mode because it's difficult to rationalize when it hits the fan," says Ralph Dunham, Senior Vice-President, Risk Consulting and National Business Continuity Practice Leader at Marsh Canada Ltd., a risk management and insurance company.
Durham says there are three kinds of emergencies retailers will face.
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