RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH | Richmond-area businesses pivot to make and sell masks – and to donate them

Ledbury has learned to pivot its business in the era of the coronavirus.

The Richmond-based maker and retailer of high-end men’s shirts and accessories shifted from making its signature upscale shirts to producing thousands of masks.

About 250 fabric masks, designed for nonmedical use, are made daily from its shop attached to its headquarters on West Broad Street in downtown Richmond. It also has converted its shirtmaking factories in Poland and China into each facility producing about 25,000 protective masks a week.

“We were put in this spot where we can help and there is a need for protection,” said Paul Trible III, the co-founder and CEO of Ledbury. “And it is keeping our business in business and keeping our factories in business.”

At first, Ledbury began making masks about five weeks ago for VCU Health System and subsequently began selling some to such businesses as Altria Group and Capital One.

Last Wednesday, it started selling them to customers on its website — a single mask (for $15 each) that is pleated or diamond-shaped made in Richmond as well as a pack of three ($25) that have three layers using anti-microbial cotton that are made at its overseas plants.

Sales have been strong ever since then, Trible said. “It has doubled our e-commerce business. There is a lot of demand out there.”

Ledbury also is donating 5,000 masks to The Community Foundation for a greater Richmond for that organization to give to other needy groups. And the company is working with a partnership in New York to provide 10,000 masks for the homeless.

The company also plans to provide masks free to those Virginia businesses receiving $3,000 grants to help small businesses stay afloat and continue operating during the pandemic.

The Virginia 30 Day Fund, created in early April, has given grants as of Monday to about 140 small businesses in Virginia, said technology entrepreneur Pete Snyder, who founded the fund with his wife. It has raised more than $900,000.

“For us, we feel blessed that we have a business that we can operate at this time, and we wanted to find ways we can give back,” Trible said. “We’ve gone from a defensive position to an offensive position and one where we can help.”

After hearing about the Virginia 30 Day Fund, Trible said he wanted to find a way to help other small businesses.

The mission of the fund is to help provide some temporary financial help. Trible said giving those companies masks for their employees will help prepare them for the next steps when the business can reopen or operate under a new norm.

“We have to make sure these employees are safe and customers are safe. Providing the masks will be helping hundreds of struggling small businesses,” said Snyder, who also is the CEO of Disruptor Capital, a Northern Virginia-based venture capital firm. Snyder’s Disruptor Capital made an investment in Ledbury in 2014, and he is a member of the company’s board.

The coronavirus pandemic hit Ledbury hard like it has with many companies.