Since the start of containment, many of you have asked us how a young company manages the crisis. We try here to answer you with the transparency that is dear to us.
We're not going to teach you, since Tuesday, March 17, we are confined. And "we" is not just Mr. Mustache, it is not fair Paris, or even France, it is more than a third of the world's population, which is called to stay at home. This situation you know. We, as a business, we are undergoing this crisis at full whip. We tell you here how we "manage" the situation.
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Anticipate to protect yourself better
First we had to take measures even before confinement. Because we saw the other countries undergo the crisis before us, and we suspected that she was soon to be raised in France.
At the beginning of March, we canceled our shoot from the fall winter 2020 collection, which was to be done abroad, in mid-April. To make photos, to present our products to you is essential for a company like ours, but that could not decently be done at the risk of our teams. But to anticipate such a crisis is not simple, and for a young company like Mr. Mustache, it was still unheard of.
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Organize at the heart of the crisis: Mr. Mustache to test his responsiveness
Saturday, March 14, shops closed.
Monday, March 16 in the morning, Antoine, Guillaume and Thibault decided to close the Paris offices, and that's good because the same evening, Emmanuel Macron announced the start of confinement. Then everything went very quickly. We had to identify the priorities, set up teleworking and answer the many questions of all, those of our teams, those of our partners, and yours.
But in this crisis, we have a chance. The chance to be able to work out, which is not given to everyone today. We also have a warm thought and filled with gratitude for all our partners, in Portugal and China, as well as for all our resellers around the world, for whom teleworking is not an option. But also for all everyday workers, on the front line to treat our patients or to allow us to keep a semblance of real life, in the shelter in the safety of our homes.
You have to be honest, before confinement, was not practicing telework at Mr. Mustache. On a daily basis, we worked with Slack, but above all, we made a lot of meetings. From now on, this is no longer possible, we had to find other solutions. Slack is always by our side, even more than before! We have tested new software like Discord. It is more complicated for some than for others we are not going to hide it, technology is not everyone's specialty. But at the time of writing, everything seems to ride!
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Maintain the activity, but not without adapting
Beyond confinement, it is above all necessary to manage the stopping of the activity. Our stalls are closed, our e-shop is still running, but idling, because the concerns of the moment are not the purchase of summer shoes. And we understand it! We made the choice not to close our e-shop after exchanging at length with our logistics platform. They are now able to maintain a reduced activity, while ensuring the safety of their employees. And that was our priority: keep our teams healthy.
We have therefore adapted to the particular context:
> We pay 10% of our turnover to the Hospitals of France Foundation,
> We have extended the return deadlines,
> Our customers can choose to be delivered without contact, or after confinement.
Maintaining the e-shop is what will allow us and our partners to go through this crisis. Keeping an economic activity is essential if we want to get out Mr. Mustache standing from this confinement. This is also our link with you, and we don't want to break it. It is essential for us to keep in touch with you.
But how ? We didn't know if you still had your head to travel, so we asked you: what do you expect from us, in this somewhat special period? Two things came out: first, that you wanted life to continue, and that our communication continues as before, as an escape from a confined daily life. Do not change your habits! We also wanted to please you, thank you for your infallible support, even when the tangled boat. With our "Draw me a basketball" competition, we welcomed you in our workshop, where you all left free rein to your overflowing imagination, creating elegant and innovative sneakers by hundreds! We have drawn a winner, from which the imaginary shoe will produce as soon as the conditions allow us.
Many of you have in a second step to ask us the question: "How does a start-up manage such a situation?" So we tried to answer you at best! We have shown you our "homemade" offices, our new temporary working conditions, and we write these few lines to you today. After all, you have followed the Mr. Moustache adventure with us for a long time, and we have always shared everything. So confinement, we also share it. There are still great adventures in front of us.
Thanks to our recycling program Still, which took its first steps a little over a year ago, and which will soon bear fruit, since all the recycled shoes since the launch will be integrated as a raw material in our next collection! And many of you take advantage of this confinement to sort out your cabinets, putting aside the used shoes in order to place them in one of our stalls once the storm has passed. We thank you. It’s a bit thanks to you if you can consider a more eco-responsible future for Mr. Mustache. This is our major concern today
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Think about the future
Finally, to think of the future of Mr. Mustache, in such a context, is surely the most complicated for us. Because we do not clearly know how long it will last, and what will be the consequences on the company, the market, our country and the world, in the medium term. Obviously, you have to manage the current season to best manage stocks, but also prepare the seasons to come, in order to reduce the impact of the crisis as much as possible. Prepare for the continuation by orienting production on models from the winter collection, so as not to overload in summer.
For the moment, we exchange a lot. Between us first, to consider all possible scenarios and imagine the answers to provide. And with our partners, to ensure everyone's state and maintain the link despite the situation. Communication with our factories is constant. We must not forget that they are in a situation as complicated as ours. We are all in the same boat. We try to find solutions together to maintain an activity, without putting anyone in danger. All our factories in Portugal are currently closed. We try to anticipate a partial recovery and above all define priorities when confinement will end completely.Â
In short, we try to see further than the tip of our nose, thinking of others, and thinking about it.
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Take care of yourself, stay at home.
