The Corona crisis knows no national borders; the whole world is affected by the pandemic. Also Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. How do my producers deal with the situation, what difficulties does it cause in the production of goods and how much does the order situation suffer? asked Baltic Design Shop.
Situation in Estonia: closed shops and declining sales
The Estonian government has implemented crisis management similar to the German one. Even in Estonia, all shops that do not sell basic necessities are closed. All restaurants, bars, nightclubs and hairdressers are closed, as are schools, nurseries and cultural institutions. There is no curfew yet and you can only go out in public with a maximum of two people. All Estonians who can afford it escape to weekend houses in the countryside, because the chance of meeting a stranger there is significantly lower than that of running into a wild animal. The approach of spring almost automatically pushes people in Estonia into nature and out of the city.
Many of my makers who have a local store, like Woolish or Liliina, have closed their stores due to government orders. At Woolish, production in the town of Viljandi is also stopped and the situation is serious. This is why unfortunately we cannot offer Woolish bedspreads at the moment.
However, Liliina, the linen towel manufacturer, continues to produce and has made a short video for you showing the production of Linda towels for Baltic Design Shop.
However, Liliina orders, especially those from the domestic market, are also canceled or suspended in the hope that they can be activated again after the crisis. In Liliina, exports continue and deliveries of goods continue, albeit with delays.
Bold Tuesday’s Kairi, on the other hand, reported a massive drop in sales. Bold Tuesday creates innovative world maps and posters that he sells through many local and virtual shops around the world, including Baltic Design Shop. Production and logistics remain operational, but the number of orders has dropped dramatically. Only the online channels still generate revenue, but even there the order volume has significantly decreased.
Estonian furniture manufacturer Radis will also continue production until the Estonian government allows it, according to CEO Mauri Abner. Radis is currently fulfilling some orders for Baltic Design Shop.
Joonas Torim of Oot-Oot, the trendy upholstered furniture brand, is still confident that the company will survive the crisis well, because the Finns, being the happiest people in the world, do not let the virus bother them and happily continue to order beautiful Scandi-style sofas and armchairs. The Oot-Oot showroom in the Estonian capital Tallinn is also still open and production continues as planned.
JALG’s Argo Männiste and Veiko Kallas benefited from the crisis. They produce minimalist TV stands, which are probably in high demand in times of crisis. Because if you have to stay at home, possibly with an elegantly presented television.
All manufacturers ensure that hygiene measures are respected and that employees can work as safely as possible. Where possible, they work from home; in production we take care to wash our hands often, keep our distance from each other and disinfect work surfaces as often as possible.
Latvia: buckwheat deficit in times of crisis
Latvia has adopted measures similar to those of Estonia or Germany to contain the pandemic: no public events, children and adults at home, only essential shops remain open for supplies. In Germany, yeast and toilet paper are particularly popular products; in Latvia, in addition to toilet paper, buckwheat is in great demand. Every country has its own food preferences 🙂
Elina from Mint Furniture reported that although their showroom in the Latvian capital Riga is closed and sales are down, they are still fulfilling orders and the factory continues to operate. At the moment factory visits are logically no longer possible, but they are confident that they will survive the period of extreme restrictions.
Lithuania: realignment of production and strict hygiene measures
The same measures to contain the virus adopted in Estonia and Latvia are also in force in Lithuania: all public events are prohibited, schools and nurseries are closed and only vital infrastructure such as supermarkets and pharmacies can be opened.
All the manufacturers I asked are confident they can maintain production. Linoo and LinenMe – two Lithuanian linen textile producers have adapted production to the new situation and now also produce masks for local people and companies. They also try to avoid direct contact with suppliers, for example by leaving the goods at the door and having the driver pick them up there. In Lithuania, office workers also work from home and production workers follow the strict hygiene measures that the Lithuanian government has ordered for all companies.
The decline in sales is still evident. Inga from Lithuanian furniture manufacturer EMKO complains of a 60% drop in sales. LinenMe’s Asta is happy with every order that comes in (mostly) online, but large corporate orders are also on hold. Ruta from Pusku Pusku reports that foreign cooperation partners are sending them back with new orders for poufs after the Corona crisis.
The guys at Muista Chair are having trouble sourcing the materials for the legs of the ergonomic rocking chair. But since the warehouse is still well full, there are no delivery problems for the moment. They also report a significant decline in sales and orders have come to a near standstill in some markets. Vilius, Aurimas and Vainius remain optimistic and are using the time to develop new products and marketing strategies for the post-crisis period.
Despite the crisis situation, my producers remain optimistic, look for new ways to get out of the crisis in the best possible way and almost unanimously emphasize that they are still there for customers and can deliver results. Therefore I appeal to you: support the producers and designers of the Baltic countries with your purchases so that the impact of the crisis on small businesses in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is as small as possible. Thank you!
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