Is there a recession ahead? Some doomsayers believe there is.
Economist Nouriel Roubini, who correctly predicted the 2008 financial crisis, sees a “long and ugly” recession occurring in the U.S. and globally at the end of 2022 that could last all of 2023. (He also has a new book to sell, so keep that in mind.)
Others are less certain as various opinions swirl. But wading through all of it can get pretty exhausting. What does it mean for the disposable glove market?
Gloves handle the difficult times well
A recession obviously means a slowdown of economic activity (i.e., people buying stuff). But the glove market has already weathered four official recessions throughout AMMEX’s 30-year tenure. There hasn’t been a single incidence of major recession-induced impact on the disposable glove industry.
Businesses normally do not cut back on their glove spend, because gloves are a need-based product. From restaurants to auto shops, management can’t suddenly decree that there will be no more gloves. (Well, they could, but it would be terribly ill advised.) Preventing contamination and protecting hands are simply too important.
Gloves still command excellent margins in certain industries. If you are selling Gloveworks Nitrile with Raised Diamond Texture, in orange, green, black, or royal blue—favorites in automotive and other heavy-duty applications—you will enjoy premium ROI.
Gloves are a great way to offset potential losses in other areas and generate additional revenue. That 3% to 5% of each spend dedicated to gloves adds up over the course of a business relationship.
Rates climb again to combat inflation
Last week the Federal Reserve raised interest rates again by 0.75 percentage points in its latest effort to slow inflation, despite growing concerns that the central bank is slowing the economy so aggressively that households and businesses will soon feel the pain. The rate increase was the fifth of the year and the third consecutive three-quarter point hike.
It’s disconcerting stuff. But now is not the time to focus on outside factors none of us can control. There is money to be made, if you structure your business well. Strong relationships with a reliable supplier (such as us) and your customer base are essential to succeeding in a post-pandemic market.
AMMEX has a great program to help you capture market share: our Sales Acceleration Solution. We will train your salespeople on our product, then help them maximize their efforts with an array of sales tools.
There is still a lot of business to go out and get. The reason you don’t have that business yet? Your reps aren’t going in on the first sales call talking about gloves—they are, of course, talking instead about your core products.
Keep the glove talk simple and brief
We suggest keeping things super simple. “Did you know we carry gloves? Here’s a flyer. We have these options. Want to try these? Here’s a sample. What do you think?” The conversation should be quick and efficient.
There may be surprises. There absolutely will be nuances to navigate. This is a really good time to take stock of your inventory and your book of business, and get busy recapturing market share.
Regardless of the economy at large, demand for gloves will stay strong. It’s easy to make a sale, but hard to maintain a customer. AMMEX can help you with both. Get started today.