There is a strange juxtaposition to be juggled in the minds of retail leaders as they prepare for a June 15 reopening.

On the one hand, there is a clear and obvious desire to get businesses, high streets and shopping centres up and running again. Retailers with store estates understandably want to put those assets to good use, in conditions that are safe both for staff and for shoppers.

But there is an overriding sense that the challenges that lie ahead during a return to something resembling normality will be even tougher than those that have already been navigated during the coronavirus crisis.

“As outgoings increase, the pressure will mount on retailers to make their physical assets work harder than ever before”

For many retailers, June 15 could mark the start of an even tighter financial squeeze. As store staff return to work, government aid through the furlough scheme will cease, leaving businesses with reinflated payroll costs.

Retailers that have been lucky enough to secure rent reductions or holidays from their landlords – or have simply refused to cough up the cash they owe – during the lockdown will suddenly have larger property bills landing on their desks.

As outgoings increase, the pressure will mount on retailers to make their physical assets work harder than ever before to bring in customers and drive sales in the new socially distanced normal.

Against that backdrop, the temptation could be to make knee-jerk reactions for possible short-term benefit. Some, for instance, could choose to shutter previously successful stores situated close to offices, at a time when working from home has become the norm.

But retailers will need to lean on their resilience, leadership qualities and strategic foresight to shape not just their short-term performance, but their longer-term prospects.

Those that ride this next wave of upheaval will be characterised by leaders who have the courage of their convictions and the bravery to rip up the retail rulebook and do things differently.

Moving the dial

In Mike Coupe’s final interview as Sainsbury’s boss, the grocery veteran told Retail Week that the reason he landed the role in the first place back in 2014 was because he “convinced the board that the world we were living in and the formula that had driven organisations like Sainsbury’s for a long period of time was very rapidly running out of energy”.

Six years ago, that meant putting the brakes on the opening of large out-of-town supermarkets and increasing the retailer’s focus on its digital and non-food propositions. It was a turning point for the Sainsbury’s business.

Coupe will have his critics – many will define his legacy by the failed Asda merger, and others will suggest that store standards have been allowed to slip as the grocer broadened its horizons beyond the core food business.

But during Coupe’s tenure, a time when the shift to both shopping online and at the discounters accelerated, Sainsbury’s was the most resilient of grocery’s big four players.

“The coronavirus crisis presents leaders with an opportunity to move the dial in their businesses – and many will have no choice but to”

It has emerged a stronger business as a result of Coupe’s strategic vision and willingness to face into the external trading environment by breaking away from internally received wisdom.

The coronavirus crisis presents leaders with a similar opportunity to move the dial in their businesses – and many will have no choice but to.

With all but essential stores closed for the past two months, hundreds of thousands of consumers have woken up to the speed and convenience of online retail. Stores will need to adapt in countless ways to bring shoppers back into physical locations and join bricks-and-mortar more overtly with their digital offers.

Click-and-collect and drive-through pick-ups could become more common and crucial than ever. The role and volume of staff on the shop floor will need to be carefully considered.

And balancing experience with efficiency will be key, as retailers seek to provide environments that shoppers can enter, shop, pay and leave as quickly and safely as possible.

“June 15 merely marks the end of the beginning for retailers as they navigate coronavirus… the strength of leadership and the strategic steps that are taken that will define their futures”

But as we have already borne witness to throughout this crisis, things will continue to evolve rapidly and retailers will have to adapt every day to new realities. Decisive but well-considered steps from leaders will be crucial in shaping the future of retail businesses.

Coupe’s advice to his successor in the Sainsbury’s hot seat, Simon Roberts, should echo not just in his ears but in those of all retail leaders, whether they have continued to operate shops through the crisis or are preparing to reopen stores next month.

“My overwhelming advice is just to take time and think through, very carefully, what needs to happen next and not to be hurried into making choices,” Coupe says.

“I think that is multiplied by a factor of five in the current circumstances because you can make a whole series of judgements based on current evidence, but whatever is true today I suspect might not be true in a month’s time.”

June 15 merely marks the end of the beginning for retailers as they navigate coronavirus. It is the coming months, the strength of leadership and the strategic steps that are taken that will define retailers’ futures.