That’s right, while the rest of the retail cosmos is being sucked into the COVID-fueled black hole – witness the collapse of JC Penney’s, J Crew, and Neiman Marcus – and while Amazon is staggering under the weight of its world domination, leisure wear is the one ray of sunlight in an otherwise bleak post-apocalyptic retail nightmare.

Check this out: a couple of weeks ago the New York Times ran a piece on a talent agent in Los Angeles who, since beginning to work from home, has become a self-professed leisure wear aficionado. Silly? Maybe, but then again, he was featured in the New York Times…so clearly he’s doing something right…

The article went on to discuss people from various important and influential jobs who, while working from home, have begun dressing exclusively in leisure wear, citing the feeling of comfort…and power…they feel working in such relaxing duds.

You see…with all the pain and uncertainty flying around in the world right now, people want whatever comfort they can get…and in lots of cases this means replacing constricting, expensive and (let’s face it!) boring office attire with comfortable, freeing, and much more expressive leisure wear.

“So what?” You ask…”Why should I care that people are wearing robes, sweatpants, slippers and silken undergarments to work now? How does that help me stay in business?”

Here is why you should care: because YOU could be providing people with the comfy, high-quality leisure wear they want….embellished, of course, with your tastefully-branded company logo.

Think about it: in-person business meetings have been replaced with video calling, typically from the chest up. People are beginning to wear less-formal attire while on these calls…

Heck, my sister in law sent me a meme just after covid started, giggling about her fancy hair and blouse from the waist up…and sweatpants and fluffy socks from the waist down.

I would go so far as to say this has become a full-blown cultural phenomenon, and I think we’re still at the leading edge of it…

Which means you have the chance to get into your best clients’ wardrobes (figuratively speaking, of course), while this trend is still gaining momentum, and definitely before your competition figures this out!

Maybe the best thing you possibly do to raise awareness would be to give away plush Sherpa lined bathrobes with a tastefully embroidered logo visible on the chest!

Slippers are apparently the biggest category of shoes right now. Sure, maybe these won’t be showcased on video calls the way a bathrobe would be, but what other kinds of attire might your best clients be wearing every day, all day, while working from home?

Probably won’t be the Jimmy Choo heels or the patent leather wingtips! Heck it won’t even be the Timberland work boots!

They should be wearing a nice pair of comfortable slippers carrying your company’s logo. Every time they refill the cup of coffee or step outside to do some yoga in the backyard….they’ll be seeing your company’s thoughtful reminder to them.

So if you have been wringing your hands because the trade show is cancelled, clients and customers can’t walk through your door (because it’s locked), or you can’t get in to see Mr. Big in the corner office any more…you still have options for hustling up new business!

Take some of the money you would normally be using on marketing for trade shows, floor models or traveling to appointments, and invest in some beautiful, comfortable bathrobes with your company’s logo on them.

Then you send them with a nicely worded letter telling your client that you appreciate their relationship and business and hope this eases some of the stress of working from home.

If you do it right, your client might even call you and say “Hey, Tom, will you send me another one of those bathrobes? My wife got a hold of it and now she lives in it. It’s so dang comfortable I need another one for me too.”

Let me tell you, that is exactly the kind of exposure you want: your customers are associating you with high quality, and they literally have a warm and fuzzy feeling because of something you did for them.

Right now you have the opportunity to give your best customers and clients a little something delicious and comfortable that they already want, or will want very soon… something that will bring them a little bit more comfort in this uncertain and, frankly, kind of scary time.

Nothing says “safety zone” like a beautiful, plush bathrobe and soft, snug slippers.

So call me if you want to look at options for bathrobes and slippers.

And I’m gonna say this because I think it’s in your best interests: I would splurge for high quality on these. After all, people are buying comfortable, high-quality bathrobes, not cheap corrugated cardboard bathrobes made out of recycled brillo pads.

Remember, you want people to wear them, and to wear them they need to be soft, plush, comfortable, enveloping like a warm embrace from your favorite teddy bear just out of the dryer …

Now, the good news is, these are much more affordable than you might think…

So give me a call and we’ll figure out how to put your best clients and customers into your company’s branded bathrobes and slippers, where they’re you’ll be able to spot them on Zoom calls all over the country, at lease for as long as this new normal goes on.

And they will have you to thank for feeling so comfortable, powerful, and in style.