COMMENT AND OPINION | Mark Stephenson


MARK STEPHENSON OPINION


The CEO of PWS describes how he dealt with the challenges of temporarily closing his business and furloughing most of his staff ready to ride out the coronavirus pandemic


It’s not about the setback but the comeback


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I now feel as though we are in suspended animation. As one who thrives on longer-term strategy, I am learning to take things one day at a time


few weeks ago, when I was asked to write something about how we as a business were managing the emerging coronavirus


crisis, I was abroad and keeping a very close eye on developments.


I was staying in close contact with our European supply chain and in particular those in Italy with whom I have formed close personal relationships over the years. Events were moving quickly and my Italian friends were urging me to take it seriously. Although factories were still working and supply routes remained open, time as a currency we were familiar with, would not hold the same value in the coming days and weeks. I made the decision to return to the UK early and immediately went into isolation for seven days. Emerging from this [week commencing March 30], we had already made the decision to close our business as quickly as possible and set about suspending operations to protect our staff and customers’ well-being. We run a diverse operation across multiple channels, distribution and manufacturing, employing around 450 people across eight sites. I was to learn very quickly how challenging it is to close a thriving business down in a matter of days. We still have around 10% of our workforce who have not been furloughed and are providing valuable support to the business and our customers from hastily erected workspaces in their homes. The Government moved very quickly to support businesses and this made difficult decisions slightly less difficult, although, as things stand, I think they may need to go further. For example, by ensuring that credit insurers cannot just walk away from their obligations and help viable companies and single traders with debts to pay, so they can make their payments during and in the period following lockdown. Our sector, along with a very


large part of the UK economy, closed down almost completely within a week, with who knows what consequences to follow. From events moving initially at breakneck speed, I now feel as though we are in suspended animation.


As a business owner who thrives on the longer-term strategy, I am learning to take things one day at a time, while


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waiting for the moment when we all line up again on the starting grid and the lights turn green. My biggest concern at the moment, and that of many businesses across the sector, is our debtor book. Getting the cash in for those sales will be absolutely vital to ensuring the wheels of our industry start to turn again. Our credit insurers have already advised us they are withdrawing cover from a number of customers and I fully expect we will receive more similar calls over the coming weeks. It’s very worrying.


Over the past two weeks, I have spoken with several businesses that supply the independent sector, including our most hostile competitor, who surprisingly made the first contact. It’s clear we are all focused on the “what comes next”, with a view to trying to understand the shape of the market as we emerge from this crisis and how we can work together to ensure businesses continue to trade.


The longer we are in lockdown, the harder it will be for many companies, especially those in retail. It is difficult to see how consumers will behave following such a major economic shock and I don’t suppose there will be one silver bullet. It will all be about liquidity – so back to Mr Sunak, who also happens to be my local MP. However, it is in times of crisis you get the measure of a business and its people. Coming from Yorkshire, I don’t deal too much in superlatives, but if I did, I wouldn’t be able to find the words to describe the response from all our staff. Magnificent just wouldn’t do it. Through it all, from senior management to the shopfloor and at a time of great uncertainty about their own employment, they have put the business, their colleagues and our customers first. They have remained upbeat and positive and I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them. When I was walking through the empty sales office, I stopped to look at a message on a white board that one of our customer services team had written before she left. It read: “It’s not about the setback, it’s all about the comeback”.


For me, that sums up this business and its people. When the lights go green, we will be ready to go more than ever.


· May 2020


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