The situation we are all in right now feels so surreal, it seems like we are in a thriller movie — hoping and waiting for a positive plot twist. From the destructive effects of the pandemic to the social implications of #JunkTerrorBill, #BlackLivesMatter, and a lot more, we are living in a complicated world right now.
With all these things adding up, it is very difficult to imagine, and much more grueling to hope, that it will all go back to how it was in the past. While we are very optimistic, these harsh realities can never be taken lightly. A much needed introspection and re-envisioning is vital to everyone.
One of the sectors that is greatly affected by these current events is retail — brick-and-mortar to be specific. With the imposed social distancing rules and medical safety protocols, it is difficult to discern the reality retail has to face to function “normally.” This is also coming from our perspective of running our own brick-and-mortar. Retail is very special to PURVEYR due to the brand’s roots in streetwear and street culture. Moreover, it is really influential to me as well — to visit a well-run and -designed retail shop is an experience that’s something I take pleasure in and take inspiration from. Our love of a good shop is one of the many reasons for establishing PURVEYR Post. However, even with much passion, persistence, and hard work, retail can be very challenging. It was a good three-year challenge, but this might be the toughest blow we had to take.
Photos of PURVEYR Post Poblacion from December 2018 to January 2019
PURVEYR Post was conceptualized back in 2017 with the purpose of becoming a multi-brand shop that advocates and represents the local creative culture — a spatial expression of the PURVEYR brand. It will be a hub for the creative community to get-together and support each other through commerce and camaraderie. In that year, we opened PURVEYR Post Bangkal, a small retail and barbershop space, and after a year, in late 2018 we opened the doors of PURVEYR Post Poblacion. The second space shared the same purpose but was built differently, for Poblacion we wanted to shine light on local art, so it had to be a mix of retail and art gallery.
On paper it seemed like compelling ideas, but the reality of business is, not all compelling ideas can be successful. Even a mix of noble cause, honest intention, and good idea is not enough to run a flourishing shop. We understood that more when we closed PURVEYR Post Bangkal in late 2019 — read more about this from our short write-up in 2019. So as we went into 2020, we had a plan to make the Poblacion space better. The Poblacion district is known for its burgeoning nightlife scene and its growing community of creatives. We are in great company in this neighborhood. However, daytime life in Poblacion hasn’t picked-up yet — at least on our side of the neighborhood. This was a big factor in our slow growth, among other things. But, at least for this year, we believed we had a “better” plan in place.
Photos from the PURVEYR Magazine 5 — Global Launch Event in February 2019
2020 was supposed to be the year to bring forth new energy to the Poblacion space. We were set to put strategies in place to attract more tourists, passers-by, and shop-goers. And through better programming, we planned to host more exhibits and pop-ups throughout the year. All of that, and a promising new retail team and new direction, a holistic pivot from our lackluster 2018-2019 space management was planned to happen.
Then COVID-19 struck. Now, the “plan” seemed far-fetched. If only a handful go out of their way to visit the store weekly before, how far less will it even be with the pandemic? Cultural tourists were key this year, supposedly. But who’s still traveling? And lastly, with much of the creative community struggling to find their footing in all these “new normal” futures, is a retail space/creative hub still relevant right now?
Photos from the “Boy Who Eats His Feelings” Exhibit by Renzo Navarro
PURVEYR is a media brand first and foremost, so like all other companies, we have to go back and review our vision and purpose. As important as retail is within the brand, the truth is, we can still serve the local creative community without a physical space, temporarily. On top of that, we are a very small independent company, it is difficult for us to survive big and continuous waves of setbacks. So with that, we regret to inform you, our partners, and all our supporters, that we are temporarily closing down PURVEYR Post. It isn’t an easy decision, with just half a year of a gap, we closed down the two spaces our team invested so much time, energy, and effort to.
On top of that, PURVEYR Post Poblacion is the space where we were able to host a slew of different communities from photojournalism, media, street art, streetwear, music circles, and more. Although PURVEYR Post Bangkal is our first love where we forged unforgettable relationships and connections, Poblacion showed us the possibility of becoming a true hub that welcomes all communities in one space. So we are definitely saddened by this outcome.
Photos of the empty PURVEYR Post Poblacion taken earlier today, July 15, 2020
But for us to survive this wave, we have to decide quickly. With nothing coming in — which we expect to last for several more months, if not a year — this is a vital step we had to take. For our retail team, we covered what we can on their salaries, and still plan to find a way to employ them under the other dimensions of PURVEYR. I don’t expect this to be uncommon as many other businesses and brick-and-mortar are looking for ways to survive as well.
With so much uncertainty about the future, all we can do is revisit our 5-10 year plans and see what are still possible and what are irrelevant anymore. And ultimately, hope that our decisions today will be valuable for our future. What was supposed to be a 1-2 month break is now four months and still counting. The odds are against us, but as resilient as we believe Filipinos and creatives are, we will still find a way to thrive.
Photos from the “Barrio Sagrado” Exhibit by Veejay Villafranca, and “Poor Buyer” Exhibit by Doktor Karayom, Tyang Karyel, and Quatro Hapimeel
“Plan as if 2020 is a loss, and 2021 won’t be a whole lot better,” and “the new plans you will make should be relevant to your community and your vision even after the pandemic,” are two of the best tips I have heard about planning and pivoting during this time.
Keeping these two tips in mind, the next step for us after temporarily closing PURVEYR Post is to find a way to digitally integrate what is lost in the physical retail space. A lot of our friends in the community have mentioned this, time and time again, e-commerce. This has been in our minds since we started PURVEYR Post, and maybe, this is the necessary push we needed to pursue it once and for all. While there is shop.purveyr.com for PURVEYR products, in the coming months we intend to find a way to expand our e-commerce capabilities to cater to more brands and products — to hopefully continue the PURVEYR Post mission digitally.
Photos from the “Box Loco” Exhibit by Kris Abrigo, and “Saturday Morning Post” Exhibit by Nix Puno
Lastly, we aim to utilize the added energy that comes from running a brick-and-mortar to develop our online presence, content, and programs in the coming months. There are so much more stories from the Filipino creative community that need the limelight. So with this new energy, we will even do better to contribute to the growth and genuine representation of creativity through stories, objects, and experiences of Filipinos.
Even with this setback, we remain hopeful and look forward to building a new and better space in the future. But for now, if you appreciate what we do, we hope you can support us in one of the two ways — through purchasing one or two exclusive PURVEYR products at our online shop, or through becoming a patron by pledging through our Patreon account. We continue to look for ways to survive and develop what we do, so by supporting through any of the two ways, you’ll be able to help us and our team.
