PPB June 2020

throughout COVID—like technology companies. Our challenge will be to constantly pivot to where there is money being spent and not wasting resources where there will not be a payback. What shape of recovery do you think this will be—U, V, W, some combination or other—and why? I really don’t think you can paint the entire economy’s recovery with the same brush. We have entire industries that might never come back to pre-COVID levels, like airlines and travel. You also have industries like technology and health care and medical devices that will far exceed pre-COVID levels of business. Overall, I think the economic recovery will resemble a “lazy” V—but within that V will be some dramatic stories. What actions are you taking now to restart your business? We never really slowed our business down. While we did lay off 30 percent of our staff, we quickly reallocated our resources to our most productive customers. In fact, we have a formal process to review our sales resource allocation every week. We want to be very sharp about where we spend our time right now. We do have customers in the portfolio who are still growing, and they must be resourced. In addition, we have a very large warehouse operation in Atlanta, which has not been impacted at all during COVID. We also have a strategic relationship with a major procurement software company that continues to provide us leads for new business. I really hope to be in a position to re-hire some of our laid- off employees later this year. In general terms, what are your revenue expectations for year-end? I am guessing we will be down 15 to 20 percent for the entire year. Marc Simon CEO HALO Branded Solutions Sterling, Illinois How have your sales and business been affected by the pandemic? This pandemic is having a dramatic impact on many industries. A few industries are seeing opportunity, but the vast majority are experiencing a very adverse effect. While HALO serves several industries that are largely in a business-as-usual mode, there are several sectors (health care, governmental units and delivery services) whose needs have grown dramatically. However, the decline in most industries appears, in the early going, to be resulting in lower overall revenue for HALO. When do you foresee your sales returning to pre-lockdown levels? The timing of a complete recovery seems impossible to predict. That said, I would be surprised if the economy (and therefore our own sales recovery) returns to pre-pandemic levels before the fourth quarter of 2021. I say that because the scientists seem to be predicting no less than 12 months for an effective vaccine, widely disseminated and with more than 60 or 70 percent of the country inoculated. Until a vaccine is widely available, consumer spending seems unlikely to be robust. And then it will take several months for the economy to regain meaningful traction. What shape of recovery do you think this will be—U, V, W, some combination or other—and why? None of these letters seem to depict what is likely to come. I suspect there will be several false starts and dips over the next year and then modest but growing improvement that will continue on for a long time. What actions are you taking now to restart your business? HALO has been able to sustain our full business operation throughout the crisis with the majority of our teams working from home. We are evaluating the reopening of our offices only when local health authorities advise it is safe and when our people are also comfortable to return safely. For our account executives, we have developed new client solutions around safety and employee engagement as offices, retail establishments and educational institutions start to re-open. In general terms, what are your revenue expectations for year- end? I expect our 2020 revenue to decline from 2019 levels, but it is too difficult to say. We are focused on controlling expenses and preserving liquidity, which gives us a long runway to face the uncertainty. We are focused on controlling expenses and preserving liquidity, which gives us a long runway to face the uncertainty. FEATURE | A Snapshot Of Distributor Activity 52 | JUNE 2020 |