It is not necessarily the case that crises bring out the best in people. Rather, I’m observing that being locked down, or even shut down, by coronavirus amplifies pre-existing traits.
The active are now hyperactive. The anxious are now petrified. The philosophical are now super-stoical. The kindly are out volunteering. The self-interested are greedily stockpiling.
If this is true of people, why not of businesses? That Frasers Group — better known, until a tactical rebrand as UK athleisure and trainers retailer Sports Direct — should at the start of the crisis have exhibited its worst side is hardly a surprise. To be cynical, it was only living its values.