CITY STORE SLANJ SEES ‘TSUNAMI’ OF MASK SALES
Tmanaging director
THE head of Glasgow’s subway operator has said commuters in the West of Scotland are still likely to face service cuts despite the approval of a £9 million government rescue package.
Transport Secretary Michael Matheson
HE nation has become familiar with seeing the First Minister over the past few months as she delivers almost daily updates on the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, one sighting of Nicola Sturgeon started a business boom for a company that they could never have predicted.
The First Minister sported a tartan face mask during a visit to Fort Kinnaird in Edinburgh when outlining the new rules in place for shoppers in the battle against Covid-19.
While Nicola Sturgeon announced new measures at the retail park on the east coast, her appearance sparked a flurry of activity for one retailer in the west.
As soon as the pictures of the First Minister in the tartan face mask hit newsstands across the country, Slanj in Glasgow was inundated with “a tsunami of orders” which resulted in record-breaking sales and the urgent unfurloughing of staff.
Slanj
Brian announced that financial support will be put place for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and Edinburgh Trams from July to the end of September to ensure services can continue to run in the face of a continued decline in passengers.
Matheson said both services provide “key
Halley said that sales of the mask, which sees 20% go to Shelter Scotland, picked up immediately after the First Minister was pictured wearing the product.
He said: “They were picking up steadily but when Nicola wore the mask we had a tsunami of orders.
“We went from looking at redundancies to recruiting and have raised more than £30,000 for Shelter Scotland.
“The wedding trade disappeared this summer so it was a very tricky time during lockdown. It’s all positive now, having the demand and the capacity to manufacture in Scotland is massively important for Slanj and the economy.”
Prior to the appearance, they had sold 300 units – but since the First Minister was pictured wearing the tartan mask they have sold more than 20,000 units in a week.
Such demand had a stark impact on the future of the business, which recorded the equivalent of 12 years’ worth of orders in the week after Sturgeon’s appearance.
Speaking on the business boom, Brian said: “We have taken on family and friends on a temporary basis connections” within Scotland’s two biggest cities and said any restrictions would have placed unsustainable demands on other modes of transport, particularly buses.
However, while welcoming the funding, Dr Martin Bartos, chairman of SPT, said fails to cover losses it and are hoping to make some of their positions permanent.
“We are also greatly helped by the Nifty Home Stitchers who were formed to make scrubs for the NHS at the height of the pandemic.
Whilst we are overwhelmed by the response to the masks, we are mindful why people are buying them and that is keeping our feet on the ground.
“It is all hands to the pumps to fulfil the orders and we have had to turn a trews factory into a mask factory in a few days.
“Our staff have been great they return from furlough.”
He also confirmed that discussions with Shelter Scotland were taking place to discuss how best to spend the money raised from sales of the facemask: “We are in discussions with Shelter to see what is the best way to spend the money raised. It’s sitting at more than £32,000 currently in just nine days.
“We are also looking to work with other charities and organisations.”
Gillian Martin MSP said: “As we start to interact more, it’s vital that we take all reasonable steps to reduce the risk of transmission. as incurred from March to June.
SPT, which also runs a network of bus services, has said it anticipating losses of between £12.5m and £20m because the majority of its income is sourced from the subway, which experienced a 97% drop in passenger numbers in March.
Dr Bartos said: “This funding package is designed to address the losses which SPT now faces from July to September and goes some way towards recognising the important work of SPT bus and subway teams during this global public health emergency to help key workers and the
“By wearing a face covering and putting measures in place that give us the confidence to enjoy the easing of lockdown restrictions, we can protect those who are at risk of getting this virus.
“This is an important way for all of us to help protect each other, and it’s welcome to see companies like Slanj displaying a sense of community and solidarity by donating part of their sale proceeds to tackling homelessness.”
Keith Brown, the SNP’s depute leader, said: “It is encouraging to see the vast majority of people wearing face coverings in shops and on public transport.
“We all need to do our bit in this collective endeavour, and face coverings – regardless of style – help stop the spread of virus.”
In Scotland, face coverings are required on public transport, and it will be compulsory to wear them in shops from July 10.