Business in the Time of COVID: John Hatter
Better known for the bold and audacious designs of his trucker caps, John Hatter & Co ceases production on his outspoken headwear to join the fight against coronavirus
Having flipped a career from wealth management business owner to small global retailer of luxury caps and beanies selling in stores to more than 30 countries, Stockholm-based John Carlstrom aka John Hatter, has stopped all production to focus on manufacturing much-needed Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) in the fight against COVID-19.
With many countries still in lockdown for the foreseeable future and many more facing an already-staggering global death toll, it has been a well-documented fact that many of those risking their own health on the front line have struggled to procure the proper safety provisions. This is especially true here in the UK with regards to both the NHS and care home staff, who find themselves without essential PPE.
Carlstrom saw signs of the problem escalating early-on via travelling for business and through his global network, He decided to halt his exciting fledgling fashion business to focus on producing PPE, which includes manufacturing and importing millions of face masks and surgical gowns.
Today, he has been part of chartering private airliners via Russia to transport the product from China and had them signed off and regulated by Swedish Government officials to feed into the healthcare system. John has millions of pieces of protective equipment arriving every week from China His most recent endeavour was to travel to Poland to produce surgical gowns.
“I might be just a small business from Sweden, but I felt from the outset that we were on the brink of a pandemic and that I should do something to help,” says Carlstrom. “My friends thought I was crazy to do it, but we are in a crisis here, so I stopped all manufacture of the fashion product to instead source PPE to help protect those on the front line.”
With orders raining across Sweden and other countries, Carlstrom will oversee deliveries each week, which started with a batch of 200,000 surgical masks. “One of the main delays is of course transport,” he says “plus the checks that are in place to make sure that these products are approved by the right people, which, of course, is paramount.”
To find out more about John Hatter visit www.johnhatter.com
