BAMKO (asi/131431) executives Phil Koosed and Joshua White deliver powerful insights about coronavirus’ current and future impacts on the promotional products industry in the first ever Promo Insiders podcast.

Podcast Chapters
3:00: Supply chain disruption and inventory shortages
5:19: Potential best-case scenarios
9:20: What’s the status of coronavirus currently on the world scene
11:12: Possible “social distancing” to slow the spread of the virus could trigger a recession
13:43: “Extinction pressure” and its impact on promo
15:52: How long will the upheaval last?
22:50: Promo industry sales in 2020 amid the coronavirus reality
24:50: Tips to navigate the disruption

Before the word “coronavirus” made its way into the collective consciousness of the promotional products industry, Phil Koosed and Joshua White already had their fingers on the pulse of the potential effects the disease could have on the market and the world economy.

Phil Koosed, left, and Joshua White of BAMKO

In deep communication with their overseas factory partners and employees as COVID-19 started to spread in China in January, the two executives at Top 40 distributor BAMKO  were predicting – and preparing their firm for – challenges that have since started to rear, from supply chain disruption to the need for contingency planning in the event of a domestic pandemic.

As such, Koosed, BAMKO’s president, and White, the Los Angeles-based distributor’s general counsel and SVP of strategic partnerships, are at promo’s forefront when it comes to what coronavirus could mean for the industry in the months ahead.

In this exclusive podcast, the first in Counselor’s new weekly Promo Insiders podcast series, Koosed and White let the industry look through their binoculars at a macro-view of the current business landscape – and the horizon for the whole of 2020.

The view is sobering.

“There are choppy waters ahead,” White recently told Counselor. “Our industry is headed for a lot more pain than many might realize.”

It's too soon to panic and much is uncertain, but fears #coronavirus could trigger a recession are growing. That could have a significant effect on the #promotionalproducts industry https://t.co/Lxxfb5Bz1I @asicentral @ASI_MBell @Tim_Andrews_ASI @Bellantone @ASI_AndyCohen

— Chris Ruvo (@ChrisR_ASI) February 25, 2020

In this Promo Insiders, White and Koosed detail what some of that potential pain could be. Inventory shortages, sales lost due to event cancellations and pullback in corporate spending, and even cash flow problems for some industry firms are in the cards. Still, it’s not all downbeat. White and Koosed detail potential positive scenarios that remain in play too, while offering insights on how promo firms can be best prepared for the COVID-19 upheaval.