None of us will ever forget this period and the upheaval it has caused to our personal and business lives; from our mental wellbeing to our financial situation. While ‘it’ is not over, with lockdown easing by the day, thoughts can turn to what the ‘new normal’ may look like.
Daniel Prince, managing director of greeting card and calendar company Danilo, tuns back the pages of his lockdown life ‘calendar’ and turns his thoughts to adapting to the new normal.
What has life in lockdown been like for you? “Luckily, running a calendar company means I have at least known what day of the week it is!
Business life was initially challenging. We had to work quickly in March to ensure that staff were set up to work from home safely. We see staff as part of the Danilo family, so we ensured links, advice and resources were sent out to assist them from the move to working from home and we continue to frequently check in with all our employees.
I am pleased to report that everyone is healthy and working extremely well in these challenging times. Most business owners recognise that we are in unprecedented territory, and I have found it extremely beneficial to talk with other MDs during this period, to share our key learnings.
We have also been working alongside our suppliers, retailers, licensors and other partners to ensure we continue to communicate and work through any issues that arise, thereby helping us to maintain our strong relationships.
Internally we have been working arduously to ensure that our communication with the Danilo team is just as effective as with our external stakeholders. We have bi-weekly company updates to all staff, and we have even hosted our own fun Friday night Danilo quiz!”
What’s been the best thing about lockdown? “Personally, I have enjoyed spending more time with the family and having to travel less. The home schooling of the children has been a real positive, and we have tried to keep to a daily routine as much as possible and then do a mixture of different activities at the weekend.
I have enjoyed working together even more closely with the other departments in the company to really understand how we can support each other.”
What’s been the worst thing about it? “The most negative aspect of lockdown has been not being able to see friends and family in person and, of course, not being able to watch Spurs (although that’s debatable!).”
Do you have any new-found skills/guilty pleasures? “I’ve definitely upped my running game as we had a Prince family competition to see who can walk/run the most steps in May. Without doubt the increased exercise is really helping me feel better, both physically and mentally.”
What role do you think greeting cards have played in this period? “The actions the GCA has taken to promote the greeting card industry (such as the ITV news coverage, Thinking of You website and the Send a Card, Deliver a Smile film), has proved very effective with the media and customers. This really underlines the importance of having a dedicated trade association at the forefront of the industry, which can help us all pull together.
I would argue that lockdown birthdays have probably been even more special than ‘normal’ birthdays. It was my wife’s during lockdown and so was unable to meet others in person as she would usually. She received so many cards, which meant a great deal and really showed the importance of sending cards and letting others know you are thinking of them.”
How are you approaching the loosening of the lockdown? “We have put together a plan for a slow reintroduction of staff returning to the office. We are aiming for a gradual return to normal from July, but we have to bear in mind that the situation is constantly changing so we will adapt plans accordingly.
We are hopeful that the high street retailers specific to our sector will start to open successfully as the lockdown eases, but we’re mindful of potential additional waves and the threat of consequential reinforcing of lockdown measures. The key challenge will be to manage sales and stocks effectively over this time period. Likewise, there will potentially be positive opportunities that will emerge that we will look to introduce into our business strategy, whether it through signing of popular new licences or expanding on retail opportunities, as evidenced by the increase of online.”
Top: Daniel Prince on stage at The Retas awards last July presenting a trophy as a sponsor.
