Introduction: focus and perspective
With the COVID-19 pandemic largely closing down countries, cities, schools and so many businesses, and worst of all tearing loved ones from families, we are quite far from the reality to which we’ve grown accustomed.
How we conducted business before has been upended. Like many entrepreneurs, we’ve been working hard to figure out how best to take care of team members, customers and trade partners while watching for signals of what business conditions and society will be like going forward. It seems things will continue to shift dynamically for some time, and to some extent things may never be the same. To us, it has been amazing to witness the strength of so many we rely upon, such as frontline medical workers and operators of essential services and businesses, across where we live (New York City & Chicago) and elsewhere. We both agree that we will bounce back as a people, and as consumers of art, entertainment, and goods.
Since starting Leap just 18 months ago, we’ve been focused on laying the foundation for our vision by partnering with awesome modern brands like Naadam, Public Rec, Goodlife, ADAY, KOIO and others. Now, with the closure of all non-essential businesses resulting in the temporary closure of our stores, we’re more-so-than-ever focused on building the Leap Platform, to set the stage for success in whatever “next normal” may come.
Incidentally, in this work, our team members and ourselves have realized that we’re actually returning to the same first principles and core constructs of our vision and, on a business level, we’re more excited than ever. Leap has always been about transforming retail through innovation - from customer experience to analytics and even structural risk management. This is why we’re confident that the work we’re doing will lead to even greater success together with our brands when we re-open.
In this space going forward, you’ll be hearing from both of us, as well as other leaders inside and outside of our organization. Along with our industry peers, we’ll be sharing perspective and insights, and facilitating conversation, which hopefully can benefit all stakeholders in the modern retail economy. We’ll touch on a range of topics, from what works and what doesn’t when it comes to engaging today’s discerning consumer, the evolving roles of technology and data, the role of a store going forward and the power of platforms (Leap and many others).
We look forward to staying connected as we WFH in our most comfortable Public Rec pants, Goodlife t-shirts and Naadam cashmere hoodies.
Best,
Amish & Jared
Co-CEOs and Co-Founders, Leap
