PPB April 2021

had to lay off employees, 16 percent had to reduce work hours, 15 percent had to furlough employees and nine percent considered changes to staffing levels. Surprisingly, 35 percent reported no changes in staffing for those six months. Many of the companies that were able to keep employees on the payroll were those whose product lines allowed them to step into personal protective equipment (PPE), including face masks, face shields and gowns, and hand sanitizer. In Q4, a PPAI study found that 43 percent of supplier sales and 77 percent of distributor sales were in decorated PPE. In comparison, 28 percent of supplier sales and 36 percent of distributor sales were in blank PPE. But making that leap from traditional promotional products to PPE took some creative strategy. Dan Edge, national sales manager at Newark, New Jersey-based supplier Peerless Umbrella, began searching for solutions as soon as he heard the New Jersey governor was shutting down non-essential businesses in March 2020. He discovered that, as a manufacturing company, Peerless could remain open even though business overall was coming to a screeching halt. The company had to lay off more than 50 percent of its factory workers and about 30 percent of the customer service team, but Edge didn’t lay off anyone in sales. “That was something strategically I felt [I had to do]. As things were getting worse, we had to double- down and push that much harder,” he says. “I was able to secure everyone on the sales side. I told them, ‘It’s on our shoulders to turn this thing around as quickly as possible.’” He says business had picked up strongly by May 2020 because a big part of the company’s business is patio and restaurant umbrellas. As dining establishments started reopening and moving diners outdoors, there was a huge demand for the umbrellas. “Umbrellas were our hand sanitizer,” he says. “We were over capacity with orders and in employee bring-back mode—we were back at 100 percent in our customer service team by summer.” Peerless also introduced face masks, playing off its expertise in producing domestic sublimated bags. The idea came ByThe Numbers Statistics according to PPAI research 2020 second quarter: • Suppliers and distributors reported sales down 78 percent compared to the same quarter in 2019 2020 fourth quarter compared to the third quarter: SUPPLIERS • 20 percent reported that sales decreased by up to 20 percent • 15 percent reported decreases of 20-40 percent DISTRIBUTORS • 12 percent saw sales decrease by up to 20 percent • Eight percent reported decreased sales of 20-40 percent First half of 2020: 25% 35% 16% 9% 15% Companies on both sides of the industry Had to lay off employees Had to reduce work hours Had to furlough employees Considered changes to staffing levels Reported no changes in staffing 2020 fourth quarter: • 43 percent of supplier sales and 77 percent of distributor sales were in decorated PPE • In comparison, 28 percent of supplier sales and 36 percent of distributor sales were in blank PPE Resilient And Resourceful | FEATURE | APRIL 2021 | 29