Ziba Podcast Episode 1
Maya: Hi everyone it’s Maya Batra. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you’ve been a part of the Ziba Family for many years, thank you so much and if you’re new Welcome. I am the founder’s granddaughter and the CEO’s daughter and my mom is here today with us. The CEO of Ziba Beauty Sumita Batra
Sumita: Hi Maya
Maya: Hi! So we’ve been getting a lot of feedback and a lot of comments and questions etc. So we can discuss this today.
Sumita: Hello everyone. I actually dreamt about sitting and doing this podcast this morning. Clients are asking us why we can’t just pitch a tent in front of our stores and open? When we closed, we were 14 studios and it’s not easy. For us to shutdown it took us a few weeks. We are still dealing with vendors. It’s been almost five months now and we still have vendors that are sending us utility bills. So that’s one of the reasons. The second reason is, you’re gonna start to see a campaign brewing with us saying Your Safety is Our Priority. Safety overall has become a very big conversations and focus for us and it is a priority. I just don’t feel it is safe for my team to step out there and do this. And until I feel it is safe to conduct touch services, I still maintain what I have maintained from the beginning and we are going to stay shut.
Maya: It’s not an easy decision. Obviously, it’s our livelihood, but it’s our Family Business. I’ve literally grown up here. Our employees have become family as well. That’s our company culture.
Sumita: Yes. I mean, we thought we were gonna open on August 1st prior to the second shut down. We’re ready. Today we set up. We are moving the Artesia location downstairs again. We are shutting down four studios who have already been shutdown which is: The Santa Anita location inside the mall as well as the Cerritos mall location. Those two studios will not open. We’re going to shut down Montebello as well as West Covina. That leaves us with 10 studios Post COVID. We’re starting to set up. We’re getting ready. We have a a 3 week action plan. We need at least 3-4 weeks from the time that everyone says it’s safe. We will stabilize and then start things like Get in Line or Reserve with your Favorite Artist. Cerritos Artists are going to get consolidated with the Artesia location. Santa Anita Artists are going to get consolidated with the Century City location. We’re talking to all our artists and there’s an extreme amount of training that is involved and needs to happen and a lot of set up towards safety. We really cannot afford to keep opening and closing. It’s just something we cannot financially afford. At the moment how we’re surviving is through kindness and support and generosity of our clients that are shopping with us. We’re really trying to be respectful. We’re trying our best to offer value. Products and services. That’s how we’re surviving. So for us, it’s important that we get the message across to everybody. that we’re still going to be opening. We’re gonna be a little smaller, tighter. It’s going to be by appointment. It’s going to be very safe. We’ve got the first of 10 UVC Robots that are going to be used to sterilize our studios daily. All the protocols that we’re putting into place just take time. It’s important that we do the protocols that we’re doing and create an environment that is safe for everybody.
Maya: We’re looking forward to seeing everyone. Just as much as you miss us, we miss you too. I’ve spoken to a lot of customers that have been really really kind, and so I just want to say thank you for that.
Sumita: We would not be who we are, where we are as a family, as a brand if we did not have the support of our clients. So we’re nothing without you. We’re looking forward to coming back and opening our doors at a point when its safe. Please continue to stay tuned because we will be in touch with you.
We just want you to know that this is not an easy decision and it is not a quick decision for us. It is something that takes us time to do because we have a lot of people to mobilize and a lot of studios to mobilize. It isn’t something that happens overnight.
Maya: Yes, so thank you for you patience and we will keep you updated.
Sumita: More than everything, thank you so much for your support. zibabeauty.com was the smallest part of our business and today it is the largest part of our business. And that’s still not even close to being10% of what we were, but it’s still keeping the lights on, and keeping us busy. It’s keeping us in touch with all of you and it makes us feel like we’re making a difference. So we really really appreciate it.
Maya: Yes, thank you so much and we will be in touch soon!
Sumita: Remember, Your Safety is our Priority.