Hi everyone,
I hope you and your family are healthy and safe and coping well with the inconvenience and anxiety of this global pandemic.
As many of you know, founding Red Dot Running Company for me was much less about starting a business than building a community. Almost 3 years in, we’ve done that beyond my wildest expectations, supporting athletes of every description in their pursuit of epic goals, organising events, and bringing together people from all corners of our Little Red Dot (and beyond!) who love endurance sport, the great outdoors, and oh, yes, suffering!
At Red Dot Running Company we have been taking measures for weeks to keep our staff and customers safe; these measures have included cancelling/livestreaming public events, and trying to minimise foot traffic in the store as well as channel what foot traffic we do have in order that recommended social distancing protocols are followed.
But as COVID-19 infection numbers have climbed recently in Singapore, we want to be certain we are taking every possible measure to protect our employees and customers, and to help mitigate the spread of the virus as much as possible.
Right now I believe the best course of action for us is to close the store and try to conduct what business we can via our website. There will obviously be a significant financial cost to us for doing so, but I believe the government will eventually go down this road in any event, and we’re not going to wait for the government.
At this time, I think everyone should be staying at home as much as possible, practicing social distancing and prioritising the health of their families. It’s still possible to train (at the moment), and we will be very happy to resupply you with Tailwind, Unived gels, COROS watches, and everything else you need, but we want to do that as an online business for the next month and more, subject to periodic review (but we all know it will be at least a few more months).
One of us will be in the shop every day to pack and dispatch orders, and our suppliers are continuing to deliver to us, and in every respect we will be open for business … except that our front door will be locked. We’ll be available online to help with queries (at reasonable hours) and we’ll be working hard to try and provide useful content on our social media pages that’ll help you get through this.
Please understand that I am taking this step reluctantly, but the health and safety of our staff and customers is my paramount concern. All of us at Red Dot Running Company will be grateful for your support to keep our business sustainable during the current crisis. #supportlocal
With the new government restrictions on gatherings and events, I’m making a personal plea to everyone to take this very seriously. If we all act together, we can flatten the curve far quicker and more effectively than if we decide that the rules don’t apply to us.
Think of the frontline workers - medical staff, emergency services, delivery personnel, cleaners, and so many more. They’re all doing their jobs so we’ll have jobs to come back to when this is over. Don’t make it harder than it already is.
We’re all going to have to accept that this will more than an inconvenience, but please, just do it. For the sake of our elderly, and other vulnerable populations. For the sake of small businesses who will struggle to come out of this in one piece
On a personal level, I have an autoimmune condition, which means I am in a high risk group. I am now on a self-isolation as I can’t afford to contract this, the consequences would be pretty severe for me. #staythef___home
“He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.” - Sun Tzu, Art of War
With my very best wishes and see you all on the other side!
Jeri