By Jennifer Leonard

Philadelphia-based entrepreneur Marguerite Adzick is the founder and owner of Addison Bay, an online retailer for women’s premium activewear. Launched just two years ago, the company was hit hard by the outbreak of Covid-19.

“We didn’t have the cash reserve built up over time for major downturns,” Adzick says. “We were in the second round of raising capital for the company, moving forward quickly, and then [the pandemic] slowed us down quite a bit.”

Adzick’s main focus was on her 22-member staff and ensuring their safety and continued employment

“I have kept all of my employees and tried to take the weight [of responsibility] to keep them safe,” she explains. “My husband and I now pack all of our orders ourselves.”

She adds that they do virtual fittings on Zoom and try on clothing samples in each other’s driveways to maintain social distancing. “It’s our new normal, being innovative to make it work,” she says.

Recently, good news came from Qurate Retail, the parent company of QVC and HSN.

Addison Bay was selected to be part of its Small Business Spotlight, an initiative, launched in collaboration with the National Retail Federation, to promote smaller companies suffering financially due to the health crisis.

Per Qurate Retail, “These small businesses will be given access to production resources, television broadcasts, and digital platforms to help each participating business share its story with millions of consumers nationwide.”

There is also a virtual mentorship program, where businesses will receive advice for challenges they face specific to Covid-19, and a dedicated landing page on QVC.com and HSN.com.

Says Adzick: “I have a friend who works with QVC. She said I would be the perfect candidate and to dig into it.” Inspired, she researched the program, filled out a written application and found out a week later that Addison Bay was one of the roughly 20 companies chosen.

“I was jazzed!” she says. “I grew up in the Philly area, so I know QVC well. They’re such an amazing company. And they’ve been so clear and organized and willing to help.”

Addison Bay is scheduled to go on air with QVC and HSN on June 1.

In the meantime, Adzick believes the right attitude is key to making it through the crisis. “Being negative doesn’t help, because my energy trickles down,” she says. “I’m 99.9% super-positive and optimistic about getting to the other side of this, and it will make our team stronger.”

Find out more on Addison Bay and Qurate Retail’s Small Business Spotlight.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Leonard is a writer at VISTA Today, specializing in retail and consumer marketing. A West Goshen resident, Jennifer has 20 years of experience as a full-time editor and writer for magazines including Woman’s World, Cosmopolitan and Seventeen. Jennifer is available at jleonard@vista.today.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

You Might Also Like

How One Woman Made 800 sales on QVC in Five Minutes

Amid the Coronavirus Shutdown, Hosts’ DIY Approach Keeps QVC on the Air

West Chester Jewelry Designer is a QVC ‘Big Find’ and Bright Light During Quarantine