Big Picture - May 2020 - 22

JON
SHERMAN

Founder/Creative Director
Flavor Paper
(flavorpaper.com),
Brooklyn, New York
Is your shop deemed essential?
No. We're in the epicenter and under mandatory shutdown
right now, which is crippling us as a small business. Funny
enough, people are trapped at home and excited about
making wallpaper decisions, so our sample orders and limited
DIY offerings are doing quite well - we just can't get in to ship!
You're still gaining business despite being shut
down. How are you communicating this with your
customers? Any upsets on delayed orders?
Generally, we have updated language on our website, invoices,
etc., but the main way we are handling it is through direct
contact with clients. So many jobs have shifted where and

BRIAN
ADAM

President/Owner
Olympus Group
(olympusgrp.com),
Milwaukee
Is your shop deemed essential?
Yes. Olympus Group has begun producing PPE for the
medical community. We have an internal goal of producing
300,000 face shields (at cost - time and materials only) for

when deliveries can be made, we literally have to check in on
each and every job to clarify, especially with the new rules
UPS has in place. A few have been upset, but for the most part
people are very understanding, as they should be.
Where do you see your business in three, six, and
nine months?
Well, isn't that the million dollar or negative 200 thousand dollar
question?! I wish I knew! I think I would be more certain of the
outcome if we were a PSP, but wallpaper might have a different
recovery scenario as so many of our projects are hospitality
focused and the entire industry is up in the air right now. It will
bounce back, undoubtedly, the question is "how quickly?"
My guess is in three months we will just be getting back to
normal work weeks with a full staff and demand will still be
down significantly. Six months: I am hopeful we will be
trucking ahead at full steam with a renewed interest in
exciting environments that do not resemble home. Nine
months: the new normal has fully taken over and we are all
moving forward with a new political norm.

the hospital networks in Milwaukee (Froedtert, Children's,
Aurora, and Ascension-Col. St Mary's). Our Milwaukee
facility is primarily focused on producing this product and
we are near capacity, but if you know of anyone with needs,
please let us know (ogsupply@olympusgrp.com) as we have
a network of friends also servicing this market and want to
do our part to get as much PPE into the hands of medical
professionals as possible.
Do you have any regular business?
Yes. Certain markets have dried up (sports teams, events,
tradeshows), but we still have a bit of P-O-P, restaurant (QSRs),
and US flag work.
What are the some pro tips for a shop that is
looking to convert their business in a similar
fashion during this pandemic?
Respond fast and tweak/engineer on the fly. Needs are
changing quickly and we believe being fast to market and then
being able to tweak/engineer on the fly is critical to success.

BIG PICTURE

May 2020

What other markets have you seen grow?

None of our markets; all have shrunk substantially.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Where do you
see your business in three, six, and nine months?
We believe there are two major triggers. (1) Non-essential
businesses reopen. This is happening now and represents a
large opportunity for PSPs with a wide variety of graphics.
(2) End of social distancing - everything opens back up at full
capacity. My fear is this doesn't happen until we have
thorough testing, better treatment, and/or a vaccine. This
means we might have to wait until 2021 until we are comfortable with large events. I believe we are headed toward a pretty
severe economic downturn through the rest of 2020.

http://www.flavorpaper.com http://www.olympusgrp.com

Big Picture - May 2020

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