Where are all the shoes?!
I know! It is a question we are working to answer on a daily basis and figure it is time we share a bit of what all has been going on (behind the scenes) here at PLAE.
OCTOBER 2021:
A bit of good news - Our factory in Vietnam has just received permission to slowly start open up! Having been closed for over 2 months (due to a regional COVID lockdown), it will likely take several weeks to be fully up to speed and caught-up on the backlog of our orders, but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. We'll keep everyone posted as we receive updates.
INCOMING we were able to rush in a limited supply of Ty favorites, expected before the end of the month (along with more adult options!) These had been completed but could not leave the factory before the lockdown.
SEPTEMBER 2021:
We are incredibly thankful for the community support that we have received as we work to keep PLAE fully stocked with shoes. We are thrilled that many of you have found what you are looking for as our factory shipments arrive, but it has been an incredibly challenging time to keep inventory available. Most recently as we try to make sure that we were prepared for an important Back to School season - it is the first time in over a year that some of our kids have been in a classroom.
At the start of 2021 we had just received a factory order that was meant to be delivered months earlier in October. We were fortunate enough to avoid material shortages, and even sourced a shipping container without too much delay but that container ended up sitting in the "Parking lot in the Pacific" along with other container ships waiting to be unloaded in jammed shipping ports. What was typically a predictable 12-day ocean trip before COVID-19 had turned into an unprecedented months-long waiting game as we have seen repeatedly this year.
As these freight delays continue, we recently sped things up by using some clever routing and calling in favors with industry connections (and completely blowing up our freight budget a few times) to receive a container in record time in early August. Things were looking up as we prepared for 2 more containers to leave on our new "express route", just as COVID-19 spiked in Vietnam where our shoes are manufactured.
As a part of a nationwide lockdown to help quell the outbreak currently plaguing the country, our factory has been closed for the past several weeks and expects to remain so for several more. We applaud our factory partner in their commitment to pay all employees during this time.
We thank you all for your patience and continuing support throughout the ongoing challenges brought on by this pandemic. We have a lot to look forward to in the months ahead and we will continue to share updates as we receive them. You can always stay connected with us on Discord (the platform we use as a team internally). Stop by and say hello; https://discord.gg/TxVFzMKm
Mahalo,
Ryan and Blake