Barriers to entry become liabilities
For the past few weeks, I have seen people claim that Disney is doomed because it reported millions of loss due to the closure of its parks and resorts which, in normal times, bring a lot of revenue and margin to the table. In the same vein, airlines are called a horrible business since there are a lot of costs involved and it’s capital intensive, making it extraordinarily vulnerable in the face of a pandemic like the one we are going through.
They have a point.
However, it’s also important to remember that the current liabilities are what make barriers to entry in their industries so high. Restaurants have low barriers to entry, so it’s not unusual to see a new restaurant in town every day. How often do you see a new airline come up? Because the barriers to entry are so high, airlines at least don’t have to worry too much about a new competitor enter the fray often. Similarly, operating a park like Disneyland is no joke. It requires employing hundreds of employees and a tremendous fixed cost as well as maintenance expenses. How many parks at the same scale as Disneyland enter the market every week/month?
This crisis will blow over. It has to. It’s unfathomable to think that we will be in this self-quarantine forever. Once we get back to normal, whatever it may be, people will fly and go to Disneyland again. Although I don’t deny that what reduces new competition for those businesses now becomes sort of liabilities, it’s worth remembering that nothing good comes easy. The same logic applies to business
Remote working
Plenty of discussion online has been about how people will adjust their working style post-Covid19. Even in my company, talk has been going around on how folks will continue to work remotely for a while and how preparation should be looked into to accommodate that need. Personally, I think there will be a mixed working style moving forward. Indeed, working remotely saves everyone time from having to dress up and driving to work. Nonetheless, there is also value in face-to-face and human interaction. There is a reason why companies design common areas, hoping that folks will randomly bump into each other and creativity will spark. Plus, speaking from personal experience, I am sick of sitting at my desk, staring at the screen for hours and putting more time into work. I miss my workplace, my coworkers and casual conversations at work. So, even though folks will prefer working remotely 100% in the short term, in the long run, I expect it to be a mix.
Minh Quang Duong 