Page 26 - Widthwise Magazine

Widthwise 2020
26 | Widthwise 2020 | www.imagereports.co.uk
Richard Peter

Pre-Covid lockdown our turnover went up 25%
as we grew globally, and our team was increasing to meet this demand. Due to the international nature of our business, our people are based all around the world and are used to working with us
remotely. We have a strong team of creative people who thrive on challenges so, fortunately for us, the lockdown restrictions did not negatively impact us. Online Teams and Zoom chats are nothing new to us and we are always in contact via our WhatsApp group across all time zones.
So, although the retail and hospitality slowdown has reached us, we have used the downtime for R&D innova- tion, in which we have invested over £200,000. The results have been stunning. We have some impressive new projects in the pipeline with some top brands in the later part of this year and going into 2021 - and a multi-million pound projected increase in turnover.
The major change we have experienced is the availability of those previously unreachable people. Some of those we have been in touch at various brands for a while suddenly became more receptive to meetings, and the overall more sociable tone of online conversations has really helped us move partnerships forward to reach mutually beneficial goals.
Long term I hope that much of the traditional formality in the business world will relax a little like it has done during the pandemic. People seem more receptive to new ideas and new ways of working, which is what team StackaWraps has always been about.
In our experience, working from home with the con- stant online support of multinational colleagues has been rewarding; building friendships and commonalities and overcoming corporate conservatism. We are now hoping to cut down on those long-haul business trips and reduce our carbon footprint overall.
Although we are keen to see hospitality and retail back on track, our main fears are the health and safety of people around the world. It may sound a little trite, but we have purposefully evolved our business with an ethos of people and the planet first. As much as we can, we want to share best practice with brands and manufacturing partners globally to reduce the environmental effects of old school and plastic alternatives to our 3D printed systems.
I have not always been so ecologically aware in business, but thanks to the mindful resolve of StackaWraps co-founder, Natasha Leigh, we have geared our company towards more proactive and responsible practices. If the Covid-19 crisis
continues longer than anticipated, our POS and shelving may take a hit and we have ensured that we have spent our time and resources protecting the longevity of the business with alternative applications such as our PopHeads 3D poster range for home consumers.
The feedback we are getting from the sector is that we
are a much needed and welcome change to 2D traditional alternatives. We see increasing requests for on-boarding as people are embracing the new landscape. Sustainability is key and our eco range is enabling printers to showcase their capabilities to the max with the introduction of our patent- ed system and technology.
Working together - rather than competing - with compa- nies of all sizes, we are helping to create a new dimension in displays, capturing full photorealism and sensory detailing in 3D without compromising on quality and curvature. No one else in the world is able to come close to what we offer, and it is a real honour to be pioneering disruptive marketing with some of the most respected names in the game.
The overall more sociable tone of online conversations has really helped us move partnerships forward