Globally renowned vaping brand, Vaporesso, has exhibited consistency in 2020 despite a global slowdown due to COVID-19. CEO and Founder, Simon Lai, who is also a partner of parent company and vape R&D giants, Smoore International, talked about how their internal culture of great attention to detail and transparency allowed them to resume production after less than 2 months of lockdown. Alongside Smoore International's Hong Kong IPO in July, Vaporesso emerged even stronger out of the epidemic, releasing a few new products around the world so far in 2020. 

Vaporesso was founded in 2015 by parent company Smoore Internationalin Shenzhen, China and has a collective workforce of more than 1,000 people. With a sales distributor network spanning over 50 countries, this extensive global network made handling of the COVID-19 crisis even more challenging.

Safety First

As workplaces closed around China and the rest of the world in the wake of COVID-19, Vaporesso's manufacturing plant in Shenzhen also ceased production. 

The production line is an absolutely fundamental part of Vaporessoand it was interrupted in February due to the outbreak of COVID-19. With reopening dates for workplaces around the country being continuously pushed back by officials, the company formulated a plan to ensure they would be back to work safely and as soon as possible; as Lai put it "Our first battle to resume work began here."

The workforce went into "epidemic prevention control mode" with online seminars and training programs preparing them for the work ahead. A "Vaporesso epidemic prevention logistics team" task force was assembled and put into action with roles given to medical equipment providers, personnel movement and condition trackers, accommodation managers, and food sanitation officers.

All employees' health status and movements were frequently monitored, meals were specially prepared and eaten apart in shifts, potentially contaminated surfaces were thoroughly disinfected and records were kept of each person who entered and exited the buildings.

Starting from early February, the entire factory and all workshops were thoroughly disinfected. By the next day, some departments had already received official approval for resumption of work and this was extended to the whole factory and all workshops by mid-February with some workers beginning to return. Between the period of late February -mid-March, thorough epidemic-prevention training and recording of health symptoms, movements, accommodation, and hygiene standards was carried out and by early March, all necessary employees had resumed work.

For their international network of partners and distributors, Vaporesso helped with sourcing, purchasing and distribution of masks to ensure their health and safe operations. They also set up online seminars on epidemic prevention topics and shared their operational experience in real time before distributing this to stores in the form of an epidemic prevention manual. 

Smoore's R&D center in Shenzhen

Digitally Enhanced

Regardless of industry, many businesses struggled to emerge out of COVID-19 impact, let alone ahead of where they were. For Vaporesso, aside from quick on-the-ground action to ensure the safety of the workforce and facilities, their culture of innovation led to a very successful turnaround for the rest of the year.

With COVID-19 impending, the company predicted enormous growth in online retail and realized a need to further build their brand's online presence. The global online store was given a higher priority and much work was put into ensuring quality customer service representatives were available 24/7. The online store page also became a place for customers to receive free personal protective equipment while one would only have to pay the delivery fee.

The company's communications systems were looked into and online meetings began to replace offline in-person meetings where appropriate. Communications with clients, distributors, and business partners were also moved online.New product unveiling events were held virtually instead of the previously offline global roadshows, with video conferences being the main source of contact as travel became difficult.

"The virus has been a chance for the whole team to think clearly about where we are heading and what our brand really represents. As the future becomes more and more digitized, Vaporesso is going to continue to grow our global online presence and offer great quality products and services to our customers." Said Simon Lai.

More to Come

With the sales of official online store numbers alone tripling this year, the digital pivot is already paying dividends. Aside from sales, production too has returned, with the factory now having exceeded its pre-COVID output levels and the release of a few new products in global market signaling R&D is in full swing.

Lai believes that this period of turmoil has "improved our corporate and management teams' ability to deal with black swan events and shown us all the value of health." He notes "hard work and dedication to quality" have resulted in the team coming out on top, but warns that "there is still much to be done and we cannot afford to be complacent."

Moving forward, the company intends to place greater importance on the diversity of their international market whilst strengthening local strategic resources, and ensuring the company will be able to withstand any future crisis.