Courtesy of East Meets Dress
East Meets Dress makes traditional Chinese wedding dresses. After factory and shipping delays, the startup is sourcing new materials and fabrics to continue making dresses for brides.
- The coronavirus outbreak has shut down factories and workplaces worldwide, impacting the global supply chain at every level.
- Both large companies and small businesses are scrambling to meet demand.
- Business Insider spoke with four entrepreneurs in the US who have experienced major delays in production. They gave us the strategies they are using to move their companies forward.
- East Meets Dress cofounder Vivian Chan said it's important to stay creative and think of alternate ways to offer products to your customers.
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Crisp dress shirts lie idly on factory floors. Custom-made wedding gowns remain unshipped.
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to shut down factories and workplaces worldwide, entrepreneurs are enduring the ultimate startup test: how to keep customers happy and sales thriving while their inventory sits in countries impacted by the illness (especially China).
The economic fallout of coronavirus could be devastating for American companies. According to Small Business Trends, 30% of small businesses expect coronavirus to impact their supply chain, while 52% say they are preparing for an economic downturn.
Yet, e-commerce brands have the advantage of being malleable: They can reach their customers directly to communicate delays and change their business model with a few website updates.
Business Insider talked to entrepreneurs whose businesses have been significantly impacted by the coronavirus. For some, sales have dipped lower than usual as they wait for restocks. Wesley Kang, cofounder of dress-shirt brand Nimble-Made, said it's been the slowest few months of sales since launching in October 2018. "Our projected progress for the first quarter of 2020 has been severely delayed," he said.
Sales have skyrocketed for others, though there isn't always enough stock to keep up with the demand. Andrew Kessler, cofounder of "face mask meets scarf" brand Scough, said they received 50 times their usual online sales.
Here are the strategies they're using to adapt to the circumstances and keep their businesses thriving.