How a Cambridge business reinvented itself during lockdown

Cambridge business Fiasco Cases is celebrating its two-year anniversary after successfully ‘pivoting’ amid the COVID-19 chaos during the first lockdown.  The secret of its success was swapping its product offer from protective cases for stage gear of touring rock bands…to work-from home desks.

“When the pandemic hit two years ago, the events industry came to a grinding halt. We lost 90 percent of our business in ten days as musicians, tours, and festivals shut down in New Zealand and around the world,” says Joe Bradford co-owner of Work from Home Desks. 

The aptly named Fiasco was dealing with a real life fiasco. The team rallied together and brainstormed new product ideas to keep the business alive.

“We knew the world was changing and innovation was key.  As morbid as it sounds, one of our ideas was plywood coffins.  In the end, the team decided on wooden work-from-home desks, and plastic portable screens for shops to protect staff from infection while serving customers”. 

In just ten days they designed, tested and transformed their factory production line with new products to assist businesses and consumers during a pandemic.  They could manufacture both using existing machinery and staff skills, while materials were sourced from suppliers unlikely to be affected by border closures. The desks are constructed from the same sturdy materials as their original equipment cases.

“A business comes down to its team. We had a crisis and worked with our people and their complementary skills to create a solution. We had to be agile and focus very quickly,” says Joe.

Two years down the track and Fiasco Cases has morphed into two new businesses called Work from Home Desks and Screen Serve, doubling the size of its factory and also the number of employed staff. 

“We have brought a niche section of manufacturing back into the Waikato region and created more local jobs during a pandemic. We are really proud of that achievement,” says Joe.

Today, they are not only making desks but an entire home office with accessories; including stands for plants, computers and phones as well as shelving, footrests and note pads. All products embody the Scandi furniture style that is so popular right now.

How can local businesses be more resilient during a pandemic? 

First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson, presented to Waipā District Council elected members recently.  He gave advice on the need for local businesses to develop greater resilience to weather the COVID-19 storm during uncertain times.

As Fiasco Cases demonstrated, it’s all about being agile and adaptable to rapidly changing consumer values.

According to research from First Retail, there has been a paradigm shift in the values of everyday Kiwis as they become accustomed to living in a COVID-19 world. 

Flexible working means people are buying more home office equipment and will sometimes search for alternative spaces to do their jobs such as cafes or libraries.   People are spending more time in their own neighbourhoods and supporting locally made products. Longer periods at home meant a bigger focus on ‘nesting’ as people sought to beautify their homes and gardens. 

Wilkinson commented that there is a surge in spending of premium items as consumers move towards a culture of indulgence and wanting to surround themselves with nice things, explaining the phenomenon as having an ‘adult security blanket’. 

More than ever people are looking to escape their home for experiences, whether it be in a nearby hospitality venue, local day trips or regional trips. As the international border remains locked there is a greater appetite for domestic travel which has implications for promoting Waikato in other regions. 

According to Wilkinson, business owners need to take the time to understand what their customers want and what drives them. This means an ongoing dialogue with people who shop with them and people who don’t; and understanding the reasons why. They need to create goods, offers and experiences to reflect the new ways that locals are living working and relaxing during a pandemic. 

The sentiment was supported by Waipā District Mayor, Jim Mylchreest.

“I recommend businesses take a collective focus and share market and customer insights with each other to help our town centres build resilience.  It would be great if progressive business owners would consider extending a helping hand to more traditional traders in order to help them understand the changing market and the opportunity that exists around it,” says Mylchreest. 

First Retail Group are a world leading consultancy who specialise in working with progressive district councils like Waipā District Council.