The owners of a small candle-manufacturing business located in Hoppers Crossing have appealed for residents to buy Australian-made products, as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Husband and wife team Suji and Jeeva Sanjeevan, who live in Point Cook, started Light and Glo Designs around five years ago.
The couple said their business had experienced a 45 per cent decline in sales since the worldwide pandemic began.
Their company previously employed 12 staff at its Hoppers Crossing factory and warehouse.
“We had to lay off 10 casual staff as they fell through the cracks of Jobkeeper, so we know first-hand what it’s like to lose valuable staff,” Ms Sannjeevan said.
She and her husband recently appeared on ABC News breakfast television, in a story about how many businesses in Wyndham have applied for the JobKeeper payments.
More than 6950 businesses located in the 3029 and 3030 postcodes – which covers Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina, Werribee, Werribee South, Point Cook, Quandong and Derrimut – have applied for JobKeeper.
“It was nerve-wracking being interviewed on TV and knowing 300,000 people were watching, but we were determined to get the message across about the national necessity to support Australian manufacturers,” Ms Sannjeevan said.
“Australian manufacturers directly employ about 1 million people, and thousands more indirectly.
“Our experience of laying off 10 staff, is just a microcosm of what will happen on a massive scale if the public decide to buy cheap imports instead of Australian-made.”
She said Light and Glo planned to hire more part-time staff as their revenue built back up, through online customer purchases and its branded corporate gift division BrandScent, which was established in November.
Mr Sanjeevan said that until late last year, the Light and Glo had three divisions: an online store; a retail outlet at its Hoppers Crossing factory; and a national wholesale channel to 200 retail stores.
“Then Covid caused a dramatic drop in revenue from the wholesale division and our retail shop,” he said.
“Fortunately, our wonderful customers supported us through online purchasing, and BrandScent has come into its own with the support of orders from big firms for their activations.”
See lightandglodesigns.com.au for details.
