Page 24 - Australasian Paint & Panel May-June 2020

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Surviving the Pandemic Special • Survey
PAINT&PANEL MAY / JUNE 2020 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
#SURVIVINGTHEVIRUS SURVEY
THANK YOU TO THE 250 REPAIR BUSINESSES WHO TOOK PART IN OUR ANONYMOUS #SURVIVINGTHEVIRUS SURVEY. THE RESULTS SHOW WHAT A RESILIENT INDUSTRY WE HAVE AND THE SITUATION ISN’T AS BAD AS MANY HAVE FEARED. BY SAM STREET
I’M NOT SAYING IT IS ROSY OUT THERE – CLAIMS PLUMMETED AS
everyone stayed home from 22 March. We’re running another survey in May to find out how repairers are going especially those who were cushioned from the downturn by being booked up weeks in advance. However in comparison with most coun- tries in the world we are currently not doing it nearly as tough.
In a welcome reversal of fortune for the countryside after the bush- fires and drought, the rural repairers seem to be doing relatively well. The survey ran from 2 April to 16 April. Here are the results: The first question related to volume. Unsurprisingly 82.8% had experienced a downturn in volume. We had a representa- tive spread of businesses from throughout the country with the
most responses from NSW.
We asked who had had to let staff go. Out of the 250 busi-
nesses who responded, one business had clearly shut down or gone into hibernation as they had let all their staff go. The ma- jority had let between 1-5 staff go. In total 181 staff had been stood down from the 250 respondents, one respondent, clearly a group of some description had let 50 staff go.
We asked whether repairers were taking advantage of Gov- ernment stimulus initiatives and over half, 66.40%, said yes. We wondered if people thought insurers were being supportive at this time. 12% thought yes, 69.60% thought no more than usual and 38.4% said no.
The Government has invested heavily to help companies stay in business. Do repairers think this the stimulus will be enough?
21.20%
YES NO NOT YET BUT I EXPECT I WILL HAVE TO
36.60%
39.20%
22.40%
3.60% 12.40%
61.6% YES NO I DON’T NEED THEM I DON’T QUALIFY FOR THEM