Betting Companies That Did Well During Covid-19
The coronavirus pandemic caught many businesses by surprises. Yes, some have used this as an opportunity to adapt and innovate. The global travelling ban has hurt some, but sports, food, and entertainment companies have rallied well.
Even in the lack of professional events, sports gear sales are through the roof. Virtual finesses are set up with famous athletes and sports people pep-talking us all to get down to our workout routines – or establish one. Let’s have a look at a few companies who found the way forward amid the coronavirus lockdown. They include:
- Gym equipment retailers
- Car insurance companies
- Amazon
- Youtube and Netflix
- Food industry
- Pernod Ricard
- Nike
1. Gym Equipment Retailers
Gym retailers have never had more sales than now owing to the coronavirus outbreak. With the shutdown of physical gyms and sports centers, a large percentage of society would not give up their daily workouts. Thus, the retailers switched their clientele from gyms to private clients.
There is not a single retailer that is not feeling the increase in sales, which cover not only essentials such as dumbbells and weights but also cross fit trainers, mats, and other fitness goods that can be used in a home gym.
Fitness Town CEO James Newman comments on the matter by saying their sales have tripled and also: “This is the busiest we’ve ever been”. As it turns out, the lockdown proves to be beneficial not only for the people that are working out, but also the sports goods retailers.
2. Car insurance companies
Insurance companies in the automotive industry are recoding a peak of revenue during the lockdown in the US. With stricter traveling rules and a large portion of people working from home, there are fewer cars on the roads, thus not that many accidents resulting less insurance claims.
Reducing the traffic in the country doesn’t sound like a big deal. But once we take in consideration that there are some 268 million cars in the US, the insurers can expect a profit of about $2 billion.
While this sounds like a hefty profit for the insurance suppliers, the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) already took action, addressing the issue to the state insurance commissioners. In a letter, the CEJ and CFA deemed that it would be only fair for the excess earnings of the insurers to be returned to the policy holders.
3. Amazon
The American Amazon Corporation is also doing well during the current lockdowns in many countries. Online, users can purchase a vast variety of products including clothes, electronics, beauty products, jewelry, sporting goods, entertainment goods such as books, movies, toys and many more.
With most of the retail stores shutting down, a big number of users are looking at the convenient opportunity to have goods delivered at your doorstep, all in exchange of some money and a few clicks or far more likely – taps.
In the last four weeks, Amazon hired some 100,000 new workers to help with the demand and the just recently the giant announced that they will need additional 75,000 more. Besides the new work places, Amazon is also helping hospitals and government institutions by implementing a priority delivery for them.
The products that will be sent with priority towards those recipients are mainly medical products such as surgical gloves, face protection masks, sanitizers, facial shields, etc. Due to the growing demand of those products, they will not be available for purchase by private clients.
4. YouTube and Netflix
The entertainment pioneers YouTube and Netflix are also scoring top viewers and activity.
Back in March, 2020, CCN announced that quality reduction will be applied for the streaming in Europe for Netflix and YouTube in order to prevent network overloads. Increase of about 15% which is over 1.7 million of people is expected by Netflix in the UK alone. This increase will bring the company some £15 million or more revenue for the month.
YouTube streaming of fitness channels is also growing rapidly, collecting millions of views on a daily basis. And what would be better than to stay in shape while you are stuck at home anyway? The variety of online classes offer full body workouts, cross fits, even Zumba, Yoga and dancing lessons. Some YouTube channels even offer live stream classes for science or math, but since most schools have already switched to distant learning apps, YouTube still remains the top entertainment platform in the world.
5. Food Industry
The food industry is keeping high sales during the lockdown in many countries throughout the world. With the closure of restaurants and fast food places, society is turning to cooking at home. One can honestly say that a home cooked meal is the best meal. But restaurant owners would not leave things as they are. In the US, many restaurants started revamping their business as grocery shops.
This was also met kindly by the society as many people appreciate the effort of those business owners. In addition, those shops have implemented a “contact free” service, which means that the order is accepted by phone and upon pick up of the client – the goods are delivered to the back seat of the car or the trunk, thus minimizing the personal contact.
Fast food industry giant Subway also took an elaborate plan to deal with the outbreak. The company revamped their shops so that groceries are sold. The change is done for some 250 shops across five states – Washington, Oregon, Tennessee, Connecticut and California.
6. Pernod Ricard
The wine and spirits giant Pernod Ricard announced in March 2020 that they will produce hand sanitizers. The production won’t be for commercial purposes as the company will donate the product in order to help the United States government reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The production will take place at all of the giant’s US based factories – TX Whiskey Distillery (Ft. Worth, TX), Fort Smith, Arkansas, Smooth Ambler Spirits (Lewisburg, WV) and Rabbit Hole Distillery (Louisville, KY). Upon announcing the company’s plan, CEO of Pernod Richard North America said:
“Our company is proud to support the efforts of the Administration and communities across the country in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic”.
7. Nike
The iconic Nike is also on a mission to help society go through the current heath crisis. In an announcement, Nike noted that their application, NTC Premium, will be available without any charge for US-based consumers.
The application includes 185 different workouts with duration varying between 15 and 60 minutes. The app is beginner-friendly but since there is a large variety of training programs, it can be appealing for advanced athletes. In addition, Nike will also provide tips for its audience, focusing on sleep, movement, mindset and recovery.
Having a mobile app that assists your workouts is cool, but some have gone further. Sand & Steel Fitness of Alexandria, Virginia are offering virtual fitness. You have 3 different picks – home work out plan, virtual fitness classes or even personal virtual training.
