"Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for continuing to encourage us in critical times. We are well aware that you are not obliged to do so and we also understand that buying a swimsuit, a t-shirt or even a hair scrunchie is not the first priority at the moment, but you do it anyway and we are touched by your generosity."

Entrepreneurs Camille Forcherio and Joao Crisostomo sent this message to their newsletter subscribers on March 20. In just a few days, they had closed their physical store in Old Montreal and thought of new promotions to boost their virtual store. “Even before the lockdown was put in place, we had put free delivery. It was a good decision, because we didn’t know how long people would buy. Times were uncertain, many workers had lost their jobs. We didn’t know if they would spend on items like the ones we created.”

The response was there, however. Online sales jumped by 20%.

Solidarity Entrepreneurs A wave of solidarity was also felt among other very small and small businesses offering products online. Several waves of competitions were launched. Mimi & August was the instigator of a competition with twelve other companies. “Even if things are going well at the moment, who knows how long it will last? We prefer to take initiatives right away and come together to make a difference in the short term. There is a real community spirit in promoting and supporting other entrepreneurs around us and being supported by them in return.”

Although their sweater production has completely stopped, Camille and Joao are lucky to have received their next collection of jerseys around mid-March. “We will have to warn customers that there will be a delay for the t-shirts, which causes a little stress, but we will deal with it. Fortunately, we have a good inventory of several products in the warehouse. We will launch our spring collection little by little so as to extend it over time,” says the one who creates all the illustrations for Mimi & August.

Choosing the right tone to address their loyal customers was not an obstacle for the duo. “We said we wanted to be as close to them as possible. We keep a light and humorous tone, without exaggerating. I know there is a lot of anxiety right now. Our goal is to relax the atmosphere, while taking the situation seriously.”

A warehouse in the countryside While their two employees work from home in communications and customer service, the entrepreneurial couple, in life as in business, take care of the delivery service from their home in Hemmingford. “We are lucky to live in the countryside and to have our warehouse next to the house. We can continue to send parcels thanks to the Canada Post service. I talk to other entrepreneurs and I know that they have problems getting to their workshop and making their shipments. We are lucky and very grateful.”

Mimi & August was founded in 2013 with a line of custom swimwear. Since then, they have diversified their offering with lines of sweaters, home products, accessories and jewelry.

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