How 3 Businesses Bounced Back During Covid-19

By Libby Herz for COLlive

It was mid-January and Yehudis Geisinsky of Milano wigs was monitoring the effects of Covid-19. Shipments from her Chinese factory were experiencing unusual delays. “Postponements are normal during the Chinese New Year,” says Geisinsky, “but shipments usually speed up towards the end of January.” This year, however, coronavirus outbreaks were rampant in China, and it was affecting businesses around the globe.

After many months of choosing her spring styles, sourcing raw hair and manufacturing her full suite of Milano products, Geisinsky feared that the wigs would arrive too late for the Pesach season. Alas, they arrived with just enough time to prepare and distribute them for Yom Tov.

Meanwhile, it was the last day of Chanukah, and Mendy Sacho of Primo Hatters reviewed his placed orders; 500 kapotas from China, Mezlin shoes from Spain, and fabrics from Italy. He hoped they would make it to New York on time. “But shipments were slowing down,” says Sacho.

By January 26th, lags in wigs, kapotas, and menswear shipments were impossible to ignore. “Boruch Hashem,” says Sacho, “we received our shipment of kapotes on the last day of January.” Milano and Primo were now ready for Pesach, with hundreds of thousands of dollars of merchandise in their stores.

Then, all business grinded to a halt. Every Chinese factory was shut down. The workforce in Spain stopped working. In mid-March, California Governor Newsom ordered all non-essential businesses to shutter their doors. Milano’s California showroom shut down. Then their New York showroom was forced to close. The police showed up at Sacho’s store. “They warned that if we didn’t shutter our shop we would receive a massive fine. In a panic, I called a friend and begged him to rebuild our old kapote website, www.Kapotas.com.”

Since Covid-19 was declared a U.S. national emergency in early March, brick-and-mortar businesses have been forced to change their business models or face extinction. Some merged with other vendors to stay relevant and others turned to virtual sales and services to compensate for lost revenue.

With Milano’s New York and California showrooms closed, and in-person wig appointments impossible, Geisinsky thought fast. She gathered her team of hairstylists and alteration specialists on a Zoom meeting and trained them to personalize the virtual consultation experience. “Then,” says Geisinsky, “we added a portal on our website, www.mcwigs.com/consult, so clients can schedule online appointments. Now we explore wig options, computerize all notes, and talk to our clientele one-on-one, just like we did before.” Except now, everything is done via Milano’s online platform.

Other businesses have teamed up with former colleagues to create brand new businesses. Pre-coronavirus, Shimshi Drizin was a real estate broker. “Things went kaput overnight,” he says. “People aren’t moving anymore but I gotta put food on the table for my family.”

Drizin partnered with contractors, landlords, and cleaning crews to create a disinfecting service called Naaki Solutions. “I’m not a guy to sit around,” says Drizin. “I had to do something.” Now, his full-service cleaning crew wipes down all touchpoints with disinfectant and sprays a disinfectant coating over all areas of the home.

Remarkably, some business changes are improvements on past models. Nakki Solutions’s services may be in high demand well into the future. Geisinsky believes that virtual services are the wave of the future. Face-to-face appointments make it impossible to account for unforeseen variables. “Sometimes the traffic is crazy and it can take an hour to get to the appointment. Sometimes the client is rushing or can’t get out of the house during business hours. Sometimes she is in the store with her little children and can’t concentrate.” Online consultations eliminate these hassles as clients can schedule the time that works best for them. Additionally, they don’t feel pressured into buying a product as they might while in a physical shop. Milano FedExes wigs to their customers so they can try them on and keep what they love.

One new bride, Kaila, struggled to find the perfect wig to match her strawberry blonde hair. Pre-coronavirus, she had tried various salons but found nothing. Finally, she booked an online consultation with Yehudis. Yehudis asked questions to understand Kaila’s lifestyle until she was able to pinpoint exactly what she wanted. After numerous tweaks, several wig options were sent to Kaila via FedEx. Kaila tried them on at home and took her time in deciding what suited her best. “I was so happy with my choice,” says Kaila, “that I bought a second wig through the same virtual process!”

Sacho’s website is also newly polished; navigation is effortless. He provides online consultations as well. “People can call me at any hour,” he says. Dovid, a yungerman, was in need of a new kapota for Pesach. He lives upstate and was unable to travel to Crown Heights because of the coronavirus. He browsed the options on www.Kapotas.com and consulted with Sacho on FaceTime. Sacho directed him to measure himself correctly. Sacho even tried on a few kapotas himself in order to illustrate the different lapels, seams, and buttons. Two days later, Dovid tried on his brand-new, silk kapota. “When I got it, I was amazed,” says Dovid. “I don’t own any other suits of this quality. I didn’t know that a kapota could feel this good.”

For the time being, nobody knows when personalized services and retail stores will have the luxury of meeting their clients face-to-face. But these business owners have come to embrace their newfound flexibility. “Money comes from Hashem,” Sacho says. “If the money’s gonna come through my standing in the store, it will come that way. If it’s meant to come through my online business, it will come that way.” Despite the upheaval, these and other vendors are committed to finding the best way to serve their customers, and they are doing it with innovation and style.

Listen to “Podcast Epsisode 5” from Wig Talk by Milano on Anchor: Click here