As one of those companies that are not eligible for any of the existing COVID-19 related protection schemes, we need to adapt and make our business work rather than spend energy searching for grants, according to Jo Gordon, founder of the eponymous knitwear brand. Jo Gordon designs modern, luxury knitwear for women, men and home, in Scotland and the UK.
Speaking about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company, Gordon said, “I have been running my company for 25 years and am currently working harder than ever. Juggling keeping the business running, planning ahead for a number of eventualities post lock down and keeping in touch with my customers, yarn suppliers and knitting mills. At the moment, my main concern is the supply chain. Nothing can be made till the yarn mill and knitting mills re-open.”As one of those companies that are not eligible for any of the existing COVID-19 related protection schemes, we need to adapt and make our business work rather than spend energy searching for grants, according to Jo Gordon, founder of the eponymous knitwear brand. Jo Gordon designs modern, luxury knitwear for women, men and home, in Scotland and the UK.#
“As the sole employee of a limited company, I don’t qualify for any of the government support which is a frustration. It’s great that UKFT is campaigning for companies like mine. For a few years I have been wanting the main earner of the business to be online sales and be selling wholesale to just a few key stores worldwide. So the pandemic has forced me into to put this into action now,” Gordon said in a UKFT press release.
Speaking of how she is increasing her online sales, Gordon said, “At the moment, a third of my sales are direct-to-consumer via my online shop and two-thirds come from wholesale accounts to high-end stores around the world. What has been surprising is that my online shop is actually doing better than ever at the moment. Our sales for the first part of this year to date are almost the same as the whole of last year’s.”
“After a massive spring clean of the studio, I did an online sample sale on Easter Monday. I didn’t mark down the prices as much as I would for a physical sample sale and it was the best sample sale I have ever done. In the future, my sample sales will always be online. The orders are franked in the studio and we drop them at our local post office. Deliveries are taking longer but our customers are being patient,” Gordon said.
“I am currently working to strengthen the online shop so that I can sell directly to customers through the next winter season. This will insulate me against possible cancelled orders from wholesalers and give me greater control and puts me closer to my customers. It is a time to force decisions and action new paths forward,” she concluded.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (GK)
marketing@alchempro.com
