A blackout is a supply failure
Saurugg made it clear right from the start: a blackout is not comparable to regional power outages, such as those that recently occurred in Berlin, nor to short-term technical disruptions that are resolved within minutes or hours. A real blackout is a supraregional failure in which electricity, telecommunications, and essential infrastructure collapse simultaneously. More critical than the lights going out is the collapse of the supply systems that normally interact silently in everyday life: transportation, logistics, digital networks, water pumps, communication, and medical services.
Saurugg emphasized that the critical point is not the darkness, but the phase after power is restored: During this time, telephony, data transmission, and digital control processes often do not yet function. Without functioning telecommunications, logistics, production, trade, and payment transactions cannot start up. This desynchronization—the state in which systems no longer communicate with each other—is the real problem. Only when this situation stabilizes does the third phase begin: the return to normality, which can take weeks or months.
The first few hours: disorientation as the main danger
The panel of experts impressively demonstrated how quickly a society can descend into a state of acute disorientation when mobile phone networks fail. Depending on the region, most networks are overloaded or shut down due to power failures within 30 minutes to two hours.
In this situation, a working radio—crank radio, battery-powered radio, or car radio—is often the only source of information. The panel made it clear that people should attach great importance to the first few hours of such an event: they determine whether people can move around safely, whether families can be reunited, and whether panic can be avoided.
A key point was the journey home, which is neglected in many contingency plans. If public transport, traffic lights, elevators, and traffic control systems fail simultaneously, the journey home can become a real hurdle. According to the panel, survival does not begin in the forest, but in the midst of everyday urban life – where the failure is directly noticeable.
Why 72 hours is not enough – the logic of 14 days
For a long time, the recommendation was to remain self-sufficient for around 72 hours. However, Saurugg strongly disagreed with this short-sighted perspective. Although power would return more quickly in most cases, supplies would not be immediately restored.
A business whose IT systems are not working cannot take payments or record goods movements. Logistics that cannot exchange data come to a standstill. Authorities, emergency services, water suppliers, and medical facilities work with delays because communication channels are missing or overloaded. Saurugg's recommendation is therefore: at least 14 days of emergency operational capability – not necessarily 14 days of complete failure, but 14 days of bridging a partly chaotic, partly fragmented supply situation. This assessment is consistent with findings from various European events in recent years, even if it has rarely been reflected in public discourse to date.
Which skills and equipment really matter during a blackout
The experts emphasized that low tech and redundancy, rather than high tech, are the essential building blocks. Water treatment, alternative cooking methods, robust lighting, energy supply via batteries or solar solutions, analog orientation, and basic first aid knowledge are crucial.
At the same time, it was clear to all participants that equipment alone is not enough. Mindset and a structured approach are the basis for avoiding mistakes and keeping calm. Panic arises especially when people have to act without prior knowledge and without communication channels. The advice was also emphasized not to just put equipment on the shelf, but to know it and familiarize yourself with its operation, for example through realistic exercises.
The discussion painted a realistic picture: survival in a blackout is less about heroic survival in extreme conditions and more about the ability to organize everyday life under difficult conditions.
Retail as key infrastructure – and as an anchor of stability
IWA OutdoorClassics 2026 made it clear: Specialist retailers are not only economic players, but also an integral part of local resilience. Retailers sit at the interface between manufacturers, end customers, and regional communities. In a blackout, this role becomes even more apparent: Retailers are one of the first places people go to find guidance, materials, and information.
The keynote speech and expert panel emphasized that retailers – whether they specialize in outdoor, weapons, safety, or bushcraft – already have expertise that is relevant in an emergency. Many have product ranges that cover light, energy, tools, water, protection, navigation, or first aid. But for this role to function in a crisis, retailers must keep two levels in mind: their own emergency operational capability and their role as a source of information for the population.
1. Retailers' own emergency operational capability
The panel emphasized that businesses need to clarify early on when and how they can operate in the event of a large-scale disruption.
a) Offline structures
Electronic cash register systems, access systems, alarm systems, elevators, automatic doors—all these systems are powered by electricity or data. Retailers must therefore define how they will operate or secure these components manually.
A printed, clearly structured offline plan is essential: Who unlocks the doors? How is access gained if the electronic gate is blocked? Where are the keys located? How is inventory taken? Which processes can only be carried out with electricity?
b) Personnel issues
An underestimated factor: Employees may not be able to come to work – because public transport is at a standstill, because they have to pick up their children, or because they first have to stabilize the situation in their own environment. Retailers must therefore communicate in advance who should come to work in emergency mode, who can stay at home, and what steps need to be taken to get a store up and running again.
c) Cash fallback
Digital payments do not work without telecommunications. Many people have little cash. Retailers must define clear rules for this period – including temporary cash-only operations or the decision to remain closed temporarily if processes cannot be reliably mapped.
d) Security
The area of security is also changing: alarm systems have limited emergency power capacities, and call forwarding to security services does not work without a network. Retailers must therefore define basic measures for the physical security of their stores.
This internal preparation not only provides protection, but also sends a signal of reliability to customers and the region.
2. Retail as a mediator of expertise – knowledge instead of panic
The panel discussed at length how retailers provide not only goods but also guidance in an emergency. Many people do not have reliable knowledge about water, energy, or communication. Retail can play a decisive role, even before crises arise:
Workshops, information evenings, and realistic scenarios build trust and impart skills. Retailers can show people how to filter water, how to operate low-tech stoves, or how to set up sensible redundant lighting systems.
Starter kits for 72 hours or 14 days provide structure and make it easier to get started with preparedness.
Expert advice becomes particularly valuable when people are overwhelmed. A retailer who explains in understandable terms how a crank radio works or why a headlamp with matching replacement batteries makes more sense than a complex high-tech system becomes a reliable anchor. This makes retailers an asset to regional resilience —not through alarmism, but through calmly imparting knowledge.
3. Product range expansions and strategic opportunities
IWA VISION makes it clear that crisis preparedness is not only a challenge for retailers, but also an opportunity—though not one that relies on sensationalism.
Instead, strategic expansions are emerging:
- Everyday emergency lamps instead of specialized military equipment
- Water filters that are just as useful for everyday camping as they are in crises
- Bags and systems for organized mobility
- Robust tools and fire solutions
- Analog navigation aids
- First aid materials in practical modules
This product range appeals to safety-conscious people as well as outdoor, travel, and family customers. As a result, crisis preparedness becomes a normal part of a high-quality outdoor product range, not a marginal issue.
Conclusion: Retail as a bridge between the population and resilience
IWA VISION 2026 painted a picture that goes far beyond classic survival debates. A blackout is a realistic scenario, the management of which has far less to do with extreme situations in the forest than with the functioning of everyday life and infrastructure.
Retail can play a dual role here: it must prepare itself so that it remains able to respond in an orderly manner – and it can become a place of competence, orientation, and stability for the population.
This makes it clear that resilience does not only arise in times of crisis – it begins today. And retail is one of the places where it can be built most effectively.