Book Review
Since the pandemic, many businesses have gone under. But some are positively buoyant, despite the odds being stacked against them. Why is that? Retail and brand expert Mary Portas, author of Rebuild, provides a vital guide to how we reset post-pandemic and build back better.
Retail and brand expert Mary Portas argues that over the past thirty years the business of what we buy has been dominated by the biggest, fastest and cheapest. But those values no longer resonate. We've come to realize that more doesn't equal better. How we live, buy and sell is changing. We are all ready to put people and planet before profit. The post-pandemic era is all about care, respect and understanding the implications of what we're doing. This 'Kindness Economy' is a new value system where in order to thrive businesses must understand the fundamental role they play in the fabric of our lives. They need to add, not just grow, balancing commerce with social progress. Because we don't just want to buy from brands - we want to buy into them.
Full of expert insight and invaluable advice, Rebuild is about resetting the dial. It gives businesspeople pause for thought about how to make money, as well as the practical tools to build back post-pandemic. And it speaks to anyone who votes with the pound in their pocket - all of us who, with social progress in mind, want to spend our money differently and better.
Author Quotes
The Kindness Economy is a movement for how consumer culture needs and wants to change. The landscape of how people buy, sell, make and live has to change. We need social progress to go hand in hand with commerce.
Even with its awful challenges, the coronavirus pandemic has brought a recognition of the important things in life - and business: community, value, creativity, and purpose. These will be our life rafts.
If we want to thrive in this world, then we all need to embrace the kind of change that the Kindness Economy offers, interpret it within our own lives and our own businesses, and be part of a force that will transform how we all live and buy.
About the author
Mary Portas is one of the UK's most high-profile and innovative businesswomen. After making her name transforming Harvey Nichols into a global fashion destination, Mary launched Portas, her own creative company, with the mission to transform businesses into brands, places and spaces people want in their lives. Today her team work with clients ranging from Mercedes to Sainsbury's. She has been a regular on our TV screens, advised the government on the future of high streets and developed a fashion label. Her proudest achievement to date is the creation of twenty-six Mary's Living & Giving shops for Save the Children. She is the author of Shop Girl and Work Like a Woman.
Why LoA loves it…
The pandemic has changed every part of our lives over the past year and has certainly made us rethink the way we live, the way we work, the way we buy and sell goods. Mary Portas is someone who understands fundamentally what this means in the retail environment and how forward thinking businesses are now having to rebuild their business models and their ethos to operate successfully in the Kindness Economy. The world has been given a reality check over the past year, and consumers are now much more conscious about what they buy, and from which businesses and brands. Mary Portas gives a unique insight into what it now takes for businesses to both rebuild and thrive in this new Kindness Economy. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa