The Drive-Thru: CEOs reveal how COVID-19 is changing business, inside the pandemic at McDonald's, and Amazon opens 'dark' Whole Foods
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Kate Taylor
May 15, 2020, 23:55 IST
Amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19, Curtis Sulcer wipes down an escalator for shoppers at the North Park Mall in Dallas, Saturday, May 2, 2020.AP Photo/LM Otero
Happy Friday!
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This week, BI Retail took a step back to figure out exactly how the coronavirus pandemic has transformed the companies we cover. That meant listening to everyone from CEOs to hourly workers to see what they saw happening right now, and what might come next.
This week, BI launched its "What's Next" package, in which we talked to more than 200 CEOs about how the coronavirus is going to change their company, industry, and the world. I spoke with Momofuku CEO Marguerite Mariscal about how the restaurant industry will be forced to evolve due to the pandemic. Mariscal told me:
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"The last month has shone a light on some of the industry's practices that were previously barely tenable in the first place. We are hopefully going to see a reform that will better position restaurants, even after there's a vaccine. The worst thing a restaurant can do is go back to 'normal.'"
Bethany talked with meal kit CEOs about how their companies are thriving during the pandemic. Andy Levitt, CEO of the plant-based meal kit company Purple Carrot, said:
"Meal kits were starting to fall out of favor and were less en vogue because of the rise of services like Instacart and Doordash. Meal kits have had a massive comeback in the last two months. Now we'll see how we can sustain that as things begin to normalize, if and when they do."
"We used to do a lot of travel for work, and then we entertained ourselves on screens. That's going to inverse. I think we'll work more on screens and entertain ourselves in the real world."
I've been hearing from McDonald's employees about what it is like working at the chain during the pandemic over the last few months. At the same time, I've seen more news than ever before about workers' protests as part of the SEIU-backed Fight for 15 movement.
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I pieced together what has been going down inside McDonald's, from worker unrest to tension with franchisees to new corporate policies.
Hayley reports that more Whole Foods are being transformed into stores that exclusively fulfill online-only orders. A Chicago "dark store" that opened this week is the sixth Whole Foods location to shift to the format.
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It is easier for dark stores to rapidly fill online orders since the grocery staff does not have to work cash registers or help customers. It also helps address workers' worries about catching the coronavirus from customers.
"By shifting to a 'dark' format, stores reduce the number of people entering the store, and therefore reduce overall exposures to employees," Hayley writes. "Stores can also more easily enforce uniform safety standards, such as the usage of masks and gloves, among the people allowed inside."
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