[Above: Photo: Ale Di Lullo/Giro]

With varying degrees of lockdown in place across many regions of the world, there’s no disputing that these are extraordinary times for all. We wanted to connect with some of our friends around the globe to see how they – and the companies they work – for are dealing with this crisis, what initiatives they have taken and what this situation might mean for the future once we’ve come out the other side. Up first is Eric Richter, Senior Brand Development Manager at Giro…

Eric Richter.

Could you give us a brief update on how the situation is where you are? 

We are a small team with people around the world, but Giro is based in California, which moved fairly quickly to address the situation. At this time, we are all healthy and doing our best to maintain commitments and schedules while supporting our co-workers, business partners and communities. Our company encouraged employees to work-from-home before governments issued “shelter in place” guidelines, and we are currently under shelter in place orders through early May. It’s a challenge, but we remain committed to doing our best every day, and to being open to new ideas that can make things better in the future.

How has the Corona virus affected the way your company works day-to-day? 

For people used to working in offices, we’ve shifted to working from home through online meeting platforms and workflow tools (Skype, Zoom, Slack, Trello, etc.) that allow us to keep projects moving pretty seamlessly. We have regular check-ins that are not work-related, so that we can maintain the social bond that is so important to everyday life. Our warehouse teams are working with respect to safety measures put in place in those locations, and while the pace of shipments and processing has slowed, it is steady and able to support our partners at this time.

“Success is the best motivator, and the team has done an amazing job recently across the board.”

How have your staff been responding to the crisis and changes in working life? What’s the team spirit been like?

Success is the best motivator, and the team has done an amazing job recently across the board. We’ve met deadlines for new product launches, managed to hold global strategic and line plan reviews via online platforms, launched an updated Giro.com website ahead of schedule and we have coordinated with global sales leaders to make adjustments to projects based on feedback from retailers and distributors, so that we can continue to serve them effectively in this challenging moment.

Nature has forced us all to take step back. Photo: Giro

What about keeping active? Are people allowed to still ride the trails around Santa Cruz? And are you using them, or avoiding them out of principal?

Access to certain areas has been limited to reduce the density of people on beaches, trails, etc. But for the most part we can still get out for activity here, so long as we maintain “social distancing” guidelines of 2 meters minimum between people and avoid non-essential driving or travel. So many of us are trying to make time for a walk, ride or run close to home regularly.

“Since bike shops are deemed “essential services” in many areas, our sales team stays in close contact with our partners to help make sure that they’re able to maintain their business in the best way possible.”

Have you activated any initiatives as a company in response to the situation? 

Our first priority is personal health and well-being, so we’ve adjusted our communications to acknowledge the importance of this moment. We rely on official health and government organizations to provide guidance on what people should do, or how people should manage their day-to-day lives and activities, so that we are not adding unnecessary noise to that important messaging. Since bike shops are deemed “essential services” in many areas, our sales team stays in close contact with our partners to help make sure that they’re able to maintain their business in the best way possible. And we are supporting donations of PPE where needed, including approximately 3,000 MTB goggles to Goggles for Docs this week, as well as other donations being evaluated.

How are you planning on communicating your brand through these times?

We will continue to utilize the full scope of social media, email, media relations and focused advertising as relevant to support our Spring 2020 consumer campaigns, while making sure that we are nimble and flexible if plans need to change. For our internal, trade and wholesale partners, we plan to embrace digital solutions and content where we see opportunity to do so effectively.

Nils Mindnich reminding us all that slushy pipe slashes will still be there to be had in the future. Photo: Giro

Obviously this is a challenging situation for all – individuals, businesses, the lot. Negativity fills newsfeeds each day, so what positives or opportunities can you imagine for companies like yours, in both the short- and long term?

It is important to acknowledge the uncertainty and hardship faced by many people and businesses right now. We hope Giro can, in some way, make a positive difference in their day-to-day lives. Right now, we’re continuing to find ways to reduce the environmental burden of our collateral, products and packaging; we are investigating digital solutions to reduce time and travel required to conduct our business; and we are making improvements to our B2B and B2C platforms that will lead to better commercial experiences with us. And there’s more to come, for sure.

It sounds cliché, but it’s true: Change is not easy, yet it can inspire positive outcomes. So we remain focused on finding new ways to improve ourselves, our business and our communities because that is part of the good that will come out of this challenge.

“We remain focused on finding new ways to improve ourselves, our business and our communities because that is part of the good that will come out of this challenge.”

The world has changed, and will continue to be changed once this is over. Is there the possibility that a brighter future will emerge from this shared experience?

These experiences can absolutely lead to a better future. People everywhere are bringing their best energy to their families, to their communities and to their work. They are discovering new tools, new ways of doing things and searching for new ideas and solutions that will redefine our expectations in many ways. At the same time, we are being reminded of the value of life, time, health and each other. Seeing greater value in all of those things will lead to good outcomes.

When this crisis passes, what will be the first thing you’ll do: both from a business perspective, and as an individual?

I think we’re really looking forward to events like Grinduro. Events are where our passion for riding, adventure and each other can be expressed physically and emotionally, and there’s simply no substitute for that kind of energy.