Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, spoke with a roundtable of executives from Top 40 distributors about the impact the coronavirus is having on their businesses and the promotional products industry at large. On the panel were Phil Koosed, CEO of Bamko (asi/131431); Jo-An Lantz, president and CEO of Geiger (asi/202900); Craig Nadel, president and CEO of Jack Nadel Int’l (asi/279600); and Jo Gilley, CEO of Overture Promotions (asi/288473).

Panelists shared insights about the current state of their business. Gilley noted that Overture has a couple of clients in the grocery and takeout delivery industries, both of which have been deemed emergency services and not shut down. “We’re actually quite busy in terms of those two clients,” she says. Other than that, however, business is pretty slow, she added.

Sluggish orders will likely be the norm for the near future. “The next three to six weeks are going to be really tough,” Nadel said. “To expect business to be anything but really slow is unrealistic. … [But] I don’t think it’s going to be some decimation of the industry. I think in six months the industry will look roughly the way it does today, probably a little smaller.”

Panelists gave advice on how executive teams should be handling this difficult time. “As leaders, we need to lean in and lead first,” Lantz said. “Whether small or large, we need to take the hit first. … Talk to your employees and be fully transparent.”

They also shared how they were connecting with employees, clients and encouraged other distributors to reach out if they were struggling. “Our industry can be your friend,” Koosed said. “It’s not just you going through this. A lot of distributors are going through this. Reach out to larger distributors. ... You might make connections that could help save your business.”

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