It might seem a bit strange to be talking about school uniform sales in the middle of our Partial Lockdown that has seen school campuses closed since March 20.
However, due to the unprecedented circumstances in which we are all operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses need to think and operate differently in order to survive.
Allow us to share with you a bit…
Our company, EduServe Limited, is the arm of the Rhodes Park Schools Group that is tasked with providing foodstuffs to our students and staff and with supplying school unifoms and other related items. Like most businesses, we are facing challenges that have given us sleepless nights. At the time of the school campus closure, we were sitting on healthy quantities of school uniform stock, which could now continue to occupy our storerooms for an uncertain period of time if we don’t think outside the box. The situation means we have to move out of our comfort zone and try things we have never attempted before.
Our approach is to offer deep discounting to our customers in order to achieve some level of turnover in a manner that we hope will be a win-win.
What we have come up with is a promotion that we have branded as ‘Lockdown Specials’, through which we are offering you great savings of up to 50% off on selected school uniform and stationery items at the School Shop. The discounts are as shown below:
| Discount Percentage | |
| Grey Shorts | 40% |
| Swimwear | 50% |
| Dress | 45% |
| Tracksuits | 40% |
| Baggies | 35% |
| Pullover | 15% |
| Skort | 40% |
| House T-Shirt | 40% |
| Golf T-Shirt | 50% |
| Socks | 50% |
| Woollen Tights | 50% |
We hope these savings will be attractive to parents and guardians who are in a position to able to prepare for the day in future when our campuses resume for physical schooling rather than the Remote Learning that our pupils and their educators are now starting to experience.
Two other important motivators might be the fact that the Kwacha has experienced drastic depreciation against foreign currencies. Most of our stock was procured from our suppliers when the Kwacha was trading at a much lower exchange rate than it is now, or looks likely to be in future. As an indication, the USD was trading at about K12.5 in Apr 2019, rose to K14.00 by Dec 31, and is now at about K18.50. That means that the import costs of products will likely rise in future when we have to re-stock. In addition, as our supplier factories have been shut due to the Lockdown and international trade systems have all but ceased, it might be some time before new stocks arrive. Thus by taking advantage of our Lockdown Specials, parents and guardians can hedge against both future price increases and stock supply challenges.
As an added convenience and in response to our situation, our sales team is ready to assist customers make their purchases via email and over the phone, and after payment is received electronically, we will make delivery of orders to your homes at a nominal fee of K50. Our School Shop is also open for limited hours on working days(we ask that you call first to confirm timing).
We are really grateful for all the support that EduServe has received from you over the years and hope that you will be able to take advantage of this action that we see as mutually beneficial.