Why are colors sold out in the middle of summer? Good question! Here's a memo from our production team about what is happening on our supply side.
Photo by Marko Milivojevic on Pixnio
In mid-July we got the dreaded news that Vietnam was going into a government enforced lockdown for 15 days due to an increased caseload in their population. Our factory was in the midst of sewing our Back to School/Back to Office production with exciting new colors and resupply of our best sellers, with the new City Lights Collection production right on its heels.
Everything stopped.
The management secured our goods and the workers went home to stay safe. As I type this note, it has been 15 days exactly and there is no sign of a lifting of the restrictions. People are allowed to shop for essentials in a weekly scheduled rotation.
The pandemic has been a rollercoaster of government and personal approaches. We have been blessed to be a part of the bike boom and due to our factory being located in Vietnam, we missed the issues faced by companies manufacturing in countries harder hit by COVID-19 in 2020. Having a government shutdown affect our production so late into the pandemic is a crushing reminder that COVID-19 is a global and persistent problem. One country will emerge from it like the cicadas and another will see its citizens go back into their homes for the unforeseeable future.
Manufacturing products is all about living in the future. In June/July we manufacture our bags so they arrive just-in-time for fall and back-to-school. The fabric for the product that will be sold over the holidays is being woven this month and we are currently testing product that will not be for sale until 2022! It is generally a smooth running machine with predictable timelines. COVID has thrown a wrench into the machine. We have not been immune to the shipping delays and now we are dealing with a government shutdown.
The good news is that we recently received a fresh batch of new panniers and have plenty of other items in stock - the bad news is the color might not be your first choice.
We will bring in product as soon as the factory reopens and finishes production – prioritizing pre-orders and backorders – to get bags on bikes and bikes on the go. Until then, we are checking in frequently with our manufacturing team to be assured of their health and safety.
For those of you who already placed an order that sold out - thank you for your patience. We appreciate your business and will keep you informed on any updates when we learn them.
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