Town Hall Meeting: Friday 26th August

The Town Hall Meeting held on Friday, 26th August, was hosted by Dennis.

The theme was the Colart Community Day. Facilitated by Chief People Officer, Jane Beaston
co-presenters included Charlotte Caton, Arnaud Coudray, Carole Briquet and Gwenaëlle Pouteau.
We were fortunate enough to also hear from Tim Shaw, Co-Founder of Hospital Rooms. He spoke about the work the volunteers had completed, and to find out more about this, read the article Tim wrote for TFAC here.

Moments of Inspiration

Dennis started the meeting by talking about his latest read, The Epic History of a People, by David Van Reybrouck 

He links this book to the importance of culture and how it takes a long time to build and change culture, reflecting on the formation and evolution of the culture at Colart over the past seven years.

Six weeks ago, during Dennis’ last town hall, he spoke about the power of positive thinking. This time he talks about the power of celebration. Firstly, he reminds us that it is healthy to reflect and recognise what has been achieved and to celebrate it. Secondly, he tells us of the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of CTAM, which Dennis, Jane and Dominque watched virtually. Why is it so special? With 25 years of changes, ups and downs, it was so outspoken, being together, being connected. The celebration reflected all aspects of Colart, the vision, the mission and the values, and improving ourselves step by step. Watch out for the news article showing-casing these celebrations, coming soon!

Business Update

• The last town hall 6 weeks ago was quite serious, and that is why Dennis brought up the power of positive thinking to deal with the challenges we face
• Since the last town hall, the business performance is not getting better.
• July has been a disappointing month in terms of sales. The 6+6 forecast was presented in the board meeting on 12th August.
• Sales and top line are declining further, input costs are relatively stable + some price increases to offset this, but we are seeing a hit on the bottom line.
• We will most likely not see any of our financial commitments by the end of the year.
• So ACTIONS need to be taken to set ourselves up for 2023 – new roles will not happen, replacements will be carefully reviewed, D2C projects will slow down, as we do all we have to, to protect the core.
• We will look for non-organic sales growth opportunities – one such example is the distribution agreement with edding. If you missed that, read the article here: plus, other possibilities are currently in the pipeline.

Final Message from Dennis.

Colart is purpose-driven. Talk about your ideas that will make Colart stronger. These are challenging times; there is a sense of urgency; please live by the power of the teams and the brands and keep celebrating small and big successes.