PPB June 2021

Pete Luchak President and Owner Campus Promotions, Inc. London, Ontario In broad terms, what has the past year been like for your company financially? Our year end is May 31. Because we do so much work offshore, most of the orders booked in 2019 were delivered in early spring of 2020. Customers took their orders and paid their bills. Starting June 1, 2020 (our new fiscal year), we lost money every month and saw a decline in revenue of 39 percent. What changes have been necessary in your company over the past 12 months? When COVID hit, we had a decision to make. Were we going to sell PPE or stick to our 1,000-day plan of launching the “Crafty Can Cooler?” We decided not to sell PPE. Not selling PPE hurt profitability in the short term, however, it was the right long- term decision. We had time to perfect our line of patented can coolers, complete the intellectual property, develop the product line, do safety testing and get prepared for market. Those opportunities would not have presented themselves if we were hustling PPE instead of building this new brand. The game-changing decision was selling our office building at the end of the 2020. It cut our overhead, increased our cash flow, eliminated debt and bank lines, and made us flush with cash. I was lucky to have a building to sell to continue to pursue my dream. What actions have you taken to restart sales for your business in the past fewmonths? We have pivoted to the golf market and pushed forward the launch date of the Coolertag™ (a combination bag tag and can cooler). We participated in our first PGA Show (virtual) and received over 500 unique requests for samples. We have a singular product focus for 2021, stocking a single SKU which can be custom-printed domestically. We continue to search for a channel distribution in the promotional, licensing and retail space. On campus, we continue to assist customers in implementing their graduations via a “convocation in a box,” which has replaced in-person ceremonies at most Canadian universities. How do your sales in Q1 2021 compare with sales in Q1 2020? They are up six percent for Q1, but down 39 percent in aggregate Q2, Q3 and Q4. What are the biggest issues or trends that are influencing your sales right now? The biggest issue we are facing is that our customers are in high-touch businesses (incompatible with social distancing). The hospitality industry is essentially event-driven, interactive, group-oriented and fun. This will not change in the short term, so we will have to deal with it. However, I am optimistic about numerous positive trends. Very few new promotional products have been developed during the COVID era and there is hunger for innovation. Markets like school fundraising will be looking for innovative ideas and opportunities to fund their programs. High school football and university programs will need to fundraise to make up the shortfall. Finally, opportunities are limitless to help connect disconnected customers. Customers still want to be engaged. There is an opportunity in every market. It requires effort, ingenuity and probably a touch of automation. In general terms, what are your revenue expectations for the company by year-end? We expect to get back to 2019 revenue levels. Going forward, we expect a two- or three-fold revenue increase in 2022 as we bring our new products to market. Chris Stumpf, MAS CEO Stumpies Marketing Auburndale, Florida In broad terms, what has the past year has been like for your company financially? Sales were down at least 50 percent in 2020 over 2019. Most of my clients are sports teams, scout camps, schools and church camps. There was no minor league baseball last year, so no orders there, and the regular travel sports teams—soccer, baseball, basketball— had no activity, so I had no uniform sales. There were no tournaments for youth sports, so trophies and awards were non-existent. One of my niches is scout camps, and in Florida, there were only two scout camps open last summer and they didn’t need shirts or hats, water bottles or other logoed products for sale. Regular church camps that would buy shirts for the summer were closed. I also do What Distributor Principals Are Saying About Sales | FEATURE | JUNE 2021 | 45