September 28, 2018

Puerto Rican Distributors Moving Forward A Year After Hurricane Maria

Business is starting to accelerate for some Puerto Rican promo pros, but remains down year-over-year.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Silvia González is busy.

For the promotional products distributor from Puerto Rico, there’s a world of profound significance wrapped in that simple statement.

A little over a year ago, Hurricane Maria sent González fleeing from the Caribbean island to stay with family in Miami. Due to the widespread destruction Maria wrought upon Puerto Rico, González remained a refugee for months, surviving on a trickle of sales as clients struggled to get back on their feet, hardly thinking about branded merchandise.

In recent months, however, the tide has finally turned for the better. González has been back in Puerto Rico, rebuilding sales with clients who themselves are recovering. When González answered Counselor’s call, she was a bit breathless – a welcomed result of a whirlwind few weeks that have seen her working from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. many days to handle the bevy of business coming her way.

“I’ve been working like crazy, and that’s great,” said González, a promo pro with The Printer Lion (asi/299504). “It’s long days, but I’m happy to be doing them. I’ve been so busy fulfilling the requests that come my way that I haven’t even had time to reach out to some customers about future projects the way I normally would.”

Even so, González still paints a sobering picture of the storm’s lingering economic impact. Her promotional products sales for 2018 are only about 65% to 70% of what they were the prior year to date. Print sales have fared better, making it so that total sales are about 75% of last year. The financial reality is representative of the to-date sales of many distributors in Puerto Rico, González said.

“Everybody is down,” said González. “I know one distributor that is up. He got one huge sale and that was enough to build him up for the year. But for the rest of us, business is off.” González’s macro snapshot of Puerto Rican distributors’ sales performance carries weight. She is president of the Caribbean Advertising Specialties Association (CASA), and has extensive contacts with distributors throughout Puerto Rico. Sadly, she said, CASA had eight members leave this year – a result, in cases, of people abandoning the promo industry to take up other work. Economics have compelled others to shutter their promo businesses, too.

“Some people simply haven’t returned to the island,” said González.

Still, with business beginning to churn for her and other Puerto Rican promo colleagues, González believes better days are ahead. “Based on the amount of quotations I’m getting, I’m very excited for what next year will bring,” said González, who is also in the midst of planning CASA’s annual conference/trade show. “I’m super busy, and that’s an encouraging sign.”

While Puerto Rico is still grappling with Maria-related issues – including, in González’s personal experience, power outages that last several hours every few weeks – certain industries are thriving, González said. Tourism is recovering. Construction is booming. Health-related businesses are doing well. Businesses in those sectors are spending on promotional products, González said. The economic energy could spread, she believes.

“People are starting to have more money, and they’re ready to start spending,” González said. “Everyone wants to get back to normal.”

So far this hurricane season, Puerto Rico has been spared an assault from a big storm. More than 12 months after Maria visited catastrophe upon Puerto Rican promo pros and their neighbors, González and certain others in the island’s ad specialty industry are feeling grateful. Grateful to be in business. Grateful to be showing signs of improving sales. And, grateful to colleagues in the mainland U.S., including ASI and PPAI, who stepped up to support them in their hour of need in sundry ways.

“We have been blessed by the support,” said González. “If it wouldn't have been for the support of the industry, none of what we’ve accomplished in getting back to where we are would've been possible. Thank you.”