Justin Slawson is the joint managing director of Mevalco
What have you learnt from the past twelve months from the perspective of running a wholesale operation?
Never cease to be amazed by what might happen! At Mevalco we learnt very quickly to be adaptable and give anything a try. Before the pandemic our business was firmly planted in B2B but at the beginning of Covid-19 we created a solid B2C platform which was a good, fun, challenge which has been reasonably successful.
We’ve also learned the power of collaboration whether that be across our customers, our suppliers, and our peers. Shared knowledge has a real value in the face of adversity.
How has your business changed since the pandemic hit?
As we moved our business model to B2C we reviewed our product formats and working closely with our supply partner, created retail packs – a move which has opened up the retail sector for us.
We are much more diverse and adaptable than we were and fully flexible – we wouldn’t rule anything out!
Read more: Mevalco alters business model to deal with crisis
As we hopefully head into a post-Covid world, what advice/tips can you offer from what you’ve experienced?
We would say engage fully with your suppliers to ensure you are on flexible terms so there are no nasty surprises.
Also, engage fully with your clients who are still operational and find out how you can help them as their business model may have changed too. An example of this would be as restaurants were able to offer a take away service we quickly adapted our products to the meet those needs.
It’s also important to engage with your backers – the bank, the vehicle leasing company – and be open and up front so they are fully aware of your position. They may well be able to help, where help is needed and we are great advocate of collaboration and sharing of best practice.
