When you are in the magazine business and a crisis on the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic hits, it is a 24/7 effort to keep on top of all that is happening around the industry. Many of the efforts by team dealers and vendors are being highlighted in these Team Insight Extra special weekly issues and in Team Insight magazine and it is our privilege to continue to help the team business communicate in these unprecedented times.

I have spoken to dozens of team dealers and advertisers in the past weeks trying to make sense of what is going on in the offices, warehouses and (virtual) meeting rooms around the country and the term I hear most often to describe the situation is simple “cautious optimism.” (What, did you think I was going to say “desperation and panic?” That’s not the team dealer way.)

Among those I spoke with was Chuck Overman, of Overman & Associates, a sales rep group in Mount Holly, NC, to get the mood on the front lines. I also put a call into Terry Babilla, president and COO of BSN Sports, whose dominant position in the schools is a good indicator of where the industry stands in mid-April 2020.

Interesting, both sounded the same “cautiously optimistic” note I have heard from many others.

“The mood overall is cautiously positive,” says Overman, who reports that most of the dealers he is in touch with are using this forced down time to finally do some backroom cleaning, check inventory and clean up their data bases.

“The whole industry seems to have accepted that the new normal is change and, as we know, not all change is pain free, but positive results can be seen,” he adds. “Can you say ZOOM Meeting?”

Babilla sounded much the same tune. “The most apt phrase is cautious optimism,” he says. “As an industry, we tend to be can-do people and that sentiment is pretty pervasive among the people I talk to.”

He points to some tangible reasons for hope, such as the state of California’s tentative plan to re-open their economy — and hopefully schools and sports will be a part of that gradual opening. “Even if those plans are far from certain, they at least provide a glimpse into what’s next and a reason for hope.”

Overman reports that dealer reps are spending time pre-planning with their school customers for winter (basketball/wrestling) sports, with Fall uniform and equipment orders being firmed up without deadlines since those school schedules are a moving target.

Quotes and uniform designs planned now will pay dividends, he adds, while some dealer reps are selling non-medical face masks to essential businesses during the down time. “Others are simply dialing for dollars, but I get the impression that work is being done in many shops,” he adds.

At BSN Sports, Babilla says the focus is on the “long game,” not on forcing sales to survive another day. Part of that is developing a plan for a future that may be very different than the team business has been for generations, including developing new digital tools and resources to stay connected with customers even if they can’t physically do so.

“I think our entire supply chain network is working in a true spirit of collaboration and shared understanding.,” Babilla adds. “We really are in this together. Part of what makes it work is a shared sense that we are going to come out of this and, when we do, the power of partnerships across the industry will help determine everyone’s success.”

Overman puts it even more succinctly. “Once the flag falls, dealers and vendors are anticipating a huge push, “ he says. “Organized chaos is the best we can hope for, but it will be crazy busy. Communication on inventory levels and turn times will be more important than ever.” Part of that is the willingness of vendors to offer extended terms on a case-by-case discussion as both dealers and vendors chase payables.

He says that one of my large national customers sent him this quote: “We are being extremely cautious with our buys and limiting product to items that are absolutely necessary to the core of our business.”

This seems to sum up the current situation very well and we will leave it there for this week. Stay safe and please, keep sending me your COVID-19 news and efforts to mjacobsen@formula4media.com and we will continue to devote our pages to keeping the community of team dealers across America informed and connected.