Way back in what feels like 10 years ago, aka March 2020, Dana White the President of the UFC announced his plans to buy a private island. The island would play host to fighters from all over the world where they would be privately flown in and quarantined to then re-commence their UFC fights. As you can imagine, there was a great deal of criticism and disbelief, but fast forward *one month* and boom, welcome to Fight Island.

If the UFC isn’t your style, take the NBA’s “Disney Bubble” for example. On March 11 the NBA was suspended due to COVID-19 and after much discussion the NBA Board of Governors made the executive decision to, in essence, quarantine itself from the rest of the world – at Disney Land.

Just shy of 4 months later, on July 7th, all 22 teams (that’s 450 players and 370 staff) arrived in Orlando, Florida, for their 14-day quarantine ahead of restarting the NBA season. 

Whilst the 3 Disney hotels housing the teams during their stay already existed, as did the activities helping the players kill time – golf, swimming, movies, games arcade etc., this is no small feat, particularly when you consider what was created and rolled out in such a short period of time:

•           A purpose-built medical care facility to test every player, coach, team member, journalist & cleaner daily for COVID by a team of medical professionals whilst in the Disney Bubble was constructed.

•           Every player was fitted with an ‘optional’ Oura ring - the most accurate sleep and activity monitor, which is said to be capable of predicting COVID symptoms up to 3 days in advance.

•           Multiple dining halls were set up with menus created in conjunction with dieticians, chefs and fitness professionals, where food is served in biodegradable containers with disposable cutlery.

•           The development and creation of a “Disney App” which allows teams to book all outings, make requests, order food, book extra practice time, report health violations, links to mental health resources and even details on how players can register to vote in the upcoming election.

•           An entire NBA branded Barber Shop was built on site in just 12 hours offering players the ability to get a quick chop with one of six specifically chosen barbers from around the US, who themselves were asked to say goodbye to their families for what could be months and quarantine upon arrival.

•           Custom made giant beds were express delivered to the Disney resorts after officials were notified that the current set up wasn’t working for the players given the average heights for an NBA player in the 2019 - 2020 season is 6-foot-6.

•           A whopping 14 state of the art basketball courts were built within the Disney resort, each meeting the strict height & width guild lines set out by the NBA, even borrowing hardwood floors from existing courts, 2 of which are owned by nearby teams Miami Heat and Orlando Magic to save time and money (each court, if built brand new, would take 3 weeks to build and cost up to $300,000).

It’s important to highlight that Disney made a smart choice here too, and by recognising the underutilisation of their property due to COVID and agreeing to house more than 800 would definitely be helping their bank account and image to the public. 

So, you might be asking, what does this have to do with retail?

Whilst examining these big institutions, it’s easy to get fixated on the idea that these changes can only come about if you have the cash, which yes, that could be helpful, but the 3 big takeaways are obvious and could easily be adopted by retailers during this period of change.

1.         Dream Big

…and why not? The current landscape is one we’ve never experienced, and we have no idea how the pandemic is going to play out. So why not give a dream a go, try something you never thought you’d get the chance to do. Now is the time to think outside the box.

2.         Think Quick

If the timeline of either of these big moves have taught you anything, speed is key. There’s no time for analysis. Don’t host a focus group, don’t do quant, don’t bother with research because you’re trying to invent the future - the customer doesn’t know what they want. 

3.         Take a Risk

Australian retail isn’t known for taking risks. We’ve always been slow to adopt, with very few exceptions. Dana White bought a freaking island! Do you think he told his shareholders and got a standing ovation? No, he took a big risk. And so should you, because you might not be here in 12 months.