We’re With You
What a crazy few months it has been! Seems like yesterday we were all together at the markets in January, sharing good news of decent retail sales and looking forward to a prosperous year ― and then boom, the Coronavirus began spreading across the globe. Now that manufacturing in China has begun to slowly resume, there is still a backlog of shipping containers waiting to arrive in North American ports.
In the last two weeks, news of cancelled, postponed, and rescheduled trade shows, conferences, and markets began pouring into our inboxes. In response, we immediately took to social media and our website to inform all of you of the changes as soon as we heard. Then came news of government mandates on the state level closing or restricting businesses and calling for shelter-in-place action or self-quarantines. It has been heartening to see the reaction of retailers continuing to serve their customers by providing builders and consumers with their cell phone numbers and email addresses to answer questions about orders, providing virtual design guidance, and offering no-contact deliveries. Many manufacturers have stepped up by offering to drop-ship orders to customers on retailers’ behalf. In addition, the American Lighting Association (ALA) is offering all of its webinars and educational sessions for free to members, including those needed to complete Lighting Associate certification.
We, at Bravo Business Media and enLIGHTenment Magazine, remain committed to delivering the latest news and sharing relevant information and survival strategies for your businesses on our website through online articles you can access from any phone, tablet, or laptop as well as our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn). We are also launching a podcast series hosted by our business contributor and sales success consultant Mark Okun that will feature interviews with successful distributors.
The lighting industry is a tight-knit family and we are proud to be a part of it, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Thank you for trusting in us and supporting us during this challenging time. Together, we plan to help shape the new business landscape for the industry we love so much.
With gratitude,
Linda Longo
Editorial Director
