Mark Tweed is Brand Director of Cyberjammies, who work with high street retail, wholesale and have their own transactional website. Mark pinpoints some positives from the COVID-19 crisis.
Have you experienced cancellation of orders from retailers and/or retailers?
Inevitably, and understandably, yes. We offered every customer the option of pushing back their AW20 orders by a month. Most have taken us up on the offer. Many have asked to put orders on hold, some have amended their orders, others have cancelled. There are a number of web focused retailers that have been able to continue trading that have kept orders as they were and maintained delivery dates.
If you have not had cancellations or goods have been shipped, have you had to extend your credit terms to those customers who have had to close their frontline business?
Thankfully we have not had any retailers ask or impose extended payment terms on goods already delivered. I’m relieved. Cash is king for every business. If we were to have our larger retailers pass on their cash flow issues straight to us, we would have a substantial hole in our finances between June and October.
Have you been able to keep in touch with your own team (if they are not on furlough)? Have you any amusing anecdotes about everyone working from home amidst family, kids or animals?
Communication has been one of the positives to come from this challenging time. I can honestly say, we as a team have never spoken more often and are stronger for it. I have equally had very positive conversations with most of our customers. I am a firm believer that tough times often bring out the best in us.
Our daily team update meeting on WhatsApp video is frequently interrupted by my children diving in and asking for help on some school work or Georgia and Sharon’s dogs taking centre stage. It’s a frequent and welcome injection of humour in our day.
What role does social media play in either keeping touch with staff or consumers? (do you use Skype, Zoom …)
WhatsApp video calls are now our regular (and free) form of communication, both internally and with retail customers. We are debating having virtual press days rather than physical in the coming months, something that may stay for good. Social media has been our main focus of communication to our end customers for our website, which includes Facebook advertising.
We are very grateful to be selling a product that is very much in demand still. We’ve had some real engagement with our online competitions; strong conversion rates and good value from our digital advertising spend. Keeping cash coming in is essential and we are lucky to have been able to do just that.
Have you had to take the heavy decision to cancel orders to your own suppliers?
Yes, sadly we have but we have tried to limit this as much as possible. We have longstanding relationships with our suppliers and have worked with them to reduce the impact. The first couple of phases of AW20, it has been too late to affect. We are confident in the strength of our collection and will hopefully be even more flexible to respond if sales pick up later in the year. We have managed to scale back on phase 3 fabrics which should hopefully take some steam out of the total commitment. Fingers crossed we receive a suitable bounce back in the retail economy when restrictions are relaxed!
How are dealing with developments for upcoming seasons – SS2021 or AW2021 Obviously trade fairs are now postponed to August/September…will you be able to have virtual showrooms with your customers?
All options are on the table at the moment. Ultimately it depends on the timing of retail stores opening again. We were in a good position with SS21 development before the lockdown and can flex by reducing the size of the SS21 if necessary if retailers would prefer not to take newness in December.
We can reduce the overall number of collections offered at each phase, equally we can offer our regular number of collections if business recovers quicker than we expect. The situation remains fluid, and we will respond and react as quickly as possible to ensure retailers and ourselves can move forward in the months to come.
Do you feel well informed and how do you feel the British government has responded to business needs e.g. job retention scheme, business interruption loan, etc..?
I’ve been impressed with the Government response. From day one they have offered a substantial safety net to business as whole, employees and self-employed. We have applied and already received the grant from our local council. Our business is lucky to be bringing in cash and therefore additional funds are not required at this stage, however we need to be well prepared for further lean months ahead. Our biggest frustration to date is with our own bank and their lack of response to our calls so far.
Having spoken to a number of friends and colleagues in other countries, I’m grateful to have had the Government support so far offered!
Have you had opportunities to talk to professional bodies about your own situation?
As I have been able to find the necessary information I require, the need to look further has not arisen. However, I would say that I have been impressed with the amount of free advice, support and sharing of information that has been abundant online.
With pause for thought during this crisis, do you envisage substantial changes in the way you run this post-Covid-19?
Picking up the phone, having more weekly calls/Zoom meetings/virtual reviews with our team and customers will certainly increase post Covid-19. Thinking customer has always been our main focus as a business, that won’t change a great deal. That will only increase in focus post Covid-19. We’ll continue to provide customers, whether they be B2B or B2C, with great content, great product and great service. Provided we continue with that focus, solving customers’ problems, we are confident we will see our way through these difficult times.
