{"id":1821,"date":"2020-11-20T16:00:48","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T21:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/?p=1821"},"modified":"2024-12-09T14:39:12","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T19:39:12","slug":"celine-juppeau-of-kotmo-staying-true-to-company-values-in-a-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/blog\/celine-juppeau-of-kotmo-staying-true-to-company-values-in-a-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00e9line Juppeau of Kotmo: Staying true to company values in a crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November 2019, we asked Kotmo founder C\u00e9line Juppeau about what defines a \u201clocal product\u201d\u00a0(read the article<\/a>).<\/p>\n

She spoke to us with conviction and enthusiasm about\u00a0Kotmo’s<\/a>\u00a0values\u00a0and her choice to develop, produce and market unique and sustainable promotional items, made in Quebec, with the emphasis on educating business owners on the positive impact that their actions can have on society, the economy and the environment.<\/p>\n

We caught up with Juppeau a year later, in a social and economic context profoundly transformed by COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In March 2020, Kotmo was in full growth mode – but\u00a0overnight, the events sector had to stop all activity, and the company\u2019s partner factories were forced to close.<\/p>\n

On top of the loss of a significant number of customers, Kotmo, which at the time had no finished inventory, found itself without any items to sell. It was a blow for the entire team, and a considerable weight on the shoulders of Juppeau and her partner, Cindy Couture, who were responsible for the future of the company and their six employees.<\/p>\n

Still, they didn\u2019t miss a beat. Quickly, the team decided to use the coming months to review the company\u2019s strategy and create a sustainable action plan aligned with the company\u2019s values.<\/p>\n

Question your vision and values<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe start of the crisis was a special period that enabled us to reflect on our model, but also to consolidate our corporate vision and to rely on it to make the right decisions,\u201d Juppeau says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough Kotmo, we believe that we provide a solution to the challenges of sustainable development by placing people and design at the heart of an innovative transformation for companies, building an economy responsible for its community and our planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the company is here to stay. Looking at things in this light invites us to take another look at the difficulties and challenges that we encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crisis or not, promotional items remain a powerful way to communicate – to\u00a0\u201cconvey a message, a vision, or even to offer thanks,\u201d Juppeau says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the factories were able to reopen in May, our activity resumed naturally, because people need to create this kind of link.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Adapt and renew<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kotmo has adapted in various ways to the crisis – and to the evolution of customer demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn May, our customers asked us for masks.\u00a0We worked with a manufacturer in Beauce that offered great value for money in order to meet this new need,\u201d Juppeau said. \u201cIn the end, that allowed us to not only serve our usual customers but also develop a new clientele who were at first attracted by the masks, but now ask us for gifts for their clients or their employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting in the month of April, the Kotmo team envisioned itself in the middle of a long-term crisis, anticipating the probability of a second wave in autumn and another shutdown of the manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there, we decided to create a new range of products during the summer that we would keep in stock. That would allow us to support the local economy by reconnecting with our manufacturers, but also by creating new partnerships \u2013 particularly by working with illustrators from Quebec for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And so, a new series of eight limited-run promotional objects – coasters, slippers, socks, chocolate, cookie cutters, posters, cards and candlesticks – was born.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough this line, the story of the extraordinary year we are living is told – our story.\u00a0We wanted it to reflect Kotmo’s values \u200b\u200bof equity, inclusion, and collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inventory is being stored by a Kotmo partner organization, a social reintegration company in Quebec.\u00a0The objects are sold in the form of a\u00a0set<\/a>, and are accessible via Kotmo\u2019s new, purpose-built online sales platform.<\/p>\n

Review your financial strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the crisis, Kotmo’s cash flow was strong \u2013\u00a0an undeniable asset when it came to overcome the period of business inactivity, but still not enough to fund the overhaul of their product line.<\/p>\n

Juppeau relied on the advice of her mentor from the banking sector to make financial decisions, particularly when it came to the launch of their new product range and website redesign. Government financial aid was crucial in making investments and maintaining jobs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Quebec\u2019s PATME training, which offered support to companies and individuals experiencing business reduction due to COVID, enabled the team to advance in understanding the company’s finances and to put in place a sustainable financial strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil now, we had no knowledge of how our prices were set.\u00a0Thanks to the training, we created a price catalog for resellers, allowing us to more easily bring in new distributors,\u201d Juppeau says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would not have initiated such changes so quickly if the crisis had not occurred.\u00a0It gave us the opportunity to structure ourselves to continue to grow.\u00a0”<\/p>\n

No matter what the coming weeks and months have in store, Kotmo\u2019s future is looking bright.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In November 2019, we asked Kotmo founder C\u00e9line Juppeau about what defines a \u201clocal product\u201d\u00a0(read the article). She spoke to us with conviction and enthusiasm about\u00a0Kotmo’s\u00a0values\u00a0and her choice to develop, produce and market unique and sustainable promotional items, made in Quebec, with the emphasis on educating business owners on the positive impact that their actions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entrepreneurship","category-social-impact-and-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}