Hows Business?

[logobear]

My retail shop is fully closed during the lockdown.
Means we are 100% down in terms of trade.

We only service our customers logo / design requirements. We don't sell any of our own designs by any channel

I have no intention of doing on-line, but wondering how others are fairing?

Folk who do on-line, up or down?

Creative designers with online shops? - Much interest out there, - or is the world in hibernation?

Just curious?
Phil

[Mrteajunkie]

eBay and Etsy are still doing ok not great but a fair few orders coming through each day. Mainly mugs so not a great earner.

my main website is dead only one sale during April

[pisquee]

Majority of our trade is usually supplying wholesale to shops, which are obviously closed. A couple of them we are now drop shipping their website orders, but it's only a few.

We manufacture our own designs across a range of products, as well as lampshades and cushions for other companies - one of which is doing just as well, if not better than before the world shut down.
Our online platforms are ticking over nicely (own website, etsy and noths)
Our own shop is obviously shut, which is frustrating, as the shop sales are what normally would pay the costs of having the premises.

I have two staff, one zero hours, and the other as a contractor, who are helping me fulfil the orders (one is making the lampshades, the other sewing cushions, and I'm doing more hours than usual printing transfers, fabrics, and ceramics etc, along with packing and shipping) Good thing is I only need to pay them for the hours they are working, so the full time staff are furloughed, as not enough work to bring them back in.

[pw66]

Virtually shut. 90%+ of my trade is printing for events, so that is gone. Some may come back latter in the year, if they reschedule.

The other 10% is a little bit of local work for builders and tradesmen, that I do mainly for cashflow, and most of them aren't working. Getting the occasional order from them, but to be honest it is a bit of a pain - never enough for a carriage paid.

I have written this year off as 'one of those years', anything I earn in the second half is a bonus. Mortgage free, no staff and the missus has a well paid job in the care sector. Premises rent only £4k per annum, and that is already covered for the year.

More annoyed that we didn't get a couple of days notice of lockdown. I would have spent some money at B&Q and the garden centre to keep me occupied.

Fed up of being 'bullied' by joggers. I live on an A road with no footpaths. On the way back from driving the missus to work I drive 600m out of my way to excercise myself and the dogs. Nearly everyday I am being flagged down by some ##### in lycra, breathing snot a spit all over me, telling me that I should be socially distancing. Ironic that the only social contact outside of my house is with the clown telling me I am breaking the 'spirit' of the rules.

[Fletcher]

Its interesting actually. 95% of my business is online on various platforms. When we first went into lock down sales stopped for just over a week, now people are still getting 80% pay overall sales are up by about 4%. With the most popular sales place being eBay at the moment.

[pisquee]

Just looking at numbers, for the past 30 days (compared to same period last year)
our NOTHS sales are up 87%
Etsy won't give me last years figures, as we changed currency, but estimating it to be up 2/3rds
Whereas our own website is down 2/3rds

[socialgiraffe]

I have some bits and bobs, not much but enough to bump the end of year accounts further down the “jobs to do list”

If anyone asks I tell them I’m closed as I would rather spend the time on developing new products and marketing than make the occasional pound note.

Luckily for me, all the work that I would normally be doing will be done, just later in the year so I will probably be busier than normal in the second half of the year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[billy8581]

We are servicing existing customers on the work-wear side of things. We are running a limited service, mainly due to suppliers running limited services. But it all seems to be ramping up again now slowly. I have used the last 3 weeks to nail down some printing issues, research new products, and to catch up on a lot of back end stuff, so I'm really raring to go again now!

[Ravisteam]

Our online sales are better than before , nothing for 1st 2 weeks but 60% up last month , how ever we have introduced a new line and that went really well ..Again contracted staff member and me on the shop and one working from home...Happy so far ...But if the new line was not introduced sales would have been down ..