IG Design Group UK Customer & Vendor Update Covid-19 24th March 2020
There is absolutely no doubt we are all collectively experiencing unprecedented events that as clearly articulated by our Prime Minister yesterday evening now require extraordinary measures to combat the coronavirus threat.
Throughout this fast escalating crisis we have always acted on Government guidance in the best interests of our people whilst protecting our business and we have communicated with employees, customers and suppliers in a timely fashion.
We continue to do so and consequently. we will be closing our business with immediate effect from Tuesday 24th March and, consistent with current Government guidelines, we will plan to reopen our business Tuesday 14th April 2020 immediately following the Easter weekend holiday period whereupon every day orders will be fully restored.
We will naturally be suspending all deliveries to our valued customers and similarly suspending all in-bound materials, albeit with the closure of many high street retailers the demand for short-term merchandise and raw materials replenishment is vastly reduced. A big thank you to all our stakeholders who have been very collaborative as we all navigate these uncertain times.
We have a strong and well planned Christmas 2020 order book and our manufacturing in DGUK-Wales, DG Huizhou-China and 3rd party vendors, also predominantly in China, is exactly where we would expect it to be at this time of year.
We would like to thank our valued customers for working with us to ensure that product design selections have been expedited to ensure that production can get underway in China. Equally, we have adequate forward capacity in DGUK-Wales and, working with our valued raw material suppliers, we are primed and ready to resume UK manufacturing upon our return mid-April. We, therefore, have confidence in our ability to meet Season 2020 critical path obligations on time and in full.
Whilst we have left automated responses on our telephone switchboards and e-mails we will remain in contact throughout when relevant to do so and you will have the contact details for your respective representative in Design Group UK.
We do know that this situation will pass! It is a reassuring perspective that our Design Group UK colleagues at our wholly-owned factory DG Huizhou – Guangzhou, China have endured similar lockdown, thankfully experienced no casualties and have now been back at work for a few weeks with the incidents of fresh coronavirus infections all but eradicated throughout China.
I would like to wish each of you and your families’ safe passage through the next few weeks.
Lance Burn
Managing Director
