BM_FallStrategies2020-FINAL

“We have the same core group of customers that comes in, and I’d like to help those guys out and make sure they are still coming in the door.” —Frank Curry, Wylaco Denver branch manager

Wylaco’s website shows that masks are out of stock, but that doesn’t stop people from calling the stores. Curry says he ordered a few thousand cloth masks from a local t-shirt company, which they handed out to employees and have been selling to customers. “We have the same core group of customers that comes in, and I’d like to help those guys out and make sure they are still coming in the door,” he says.

to Blish-Mize when they had trouble sourcing it from another supplier. Still, they haven’t been immune to the challenges of doing business during a pandemic. As a business in the construction supply industry, Wylaco would typically sell tens of thousands of masks a year. “I could take you back to my warehouse right now and show you one big empty shelf of nothing but bare wood,” Curry says.

The Denver branch remained open to customers, however, the will-call area was limited to four customers at a time. And all entrances to the building were blocked except for one to discourage customers from walking through the warehouse. Curry says others warned him he would run into supply issues during the COVID-19 crisis, but for the most part, he says it hasn’t been an issue. He transferred their orders for trash can liners, hand sanitizer and paper towels

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