Turning Points
Turning Points is dedicated to helping industry leaders survive the current recession and to prepare for success in the inevitable economic recovery.
Big Box of Horrors
Lately I have been working with a US manufacturing company that has been crushed by another large Fortune 500 sized company. This was a talented manufacturer with a specialty in high-end, high-margin products. The owner will tell you today that he knew they were courting trouble by letting one customer become such a huge part of his business. And he’ll also admit that he got addicted to t... Read More
Comments (0)When you Can't Find the Exit...
There used to be six ways for a business to get out of trouble - and fixing it was only one. Think about that, you can get out of a major jam six different ways. That was very good for American businesses and the economy. These days there are only about 1½ways to get out of trouble in a distressed business. And the one solid way is the worst; liquidation. Quickly; here are the six ways in or... Read More
Comments (0)Consumer Rebirth
There is no longer any doubt in my mind that the American Consumer is coming back strong - and the Gift Business will do just fine. I say this because I read a survey that might seem pessimistic on the surface; According to Hart Research Associates; "63% of U.S. Consumers say the way they spend and save has changed permanately". My first thought is; What the heck are the other 37% thinking... Read More
Comments (0)Jobless Recovery??
Yesterday’s New York Times has a column by Thomas Friedman discussing the widening gap between the Haves and Have-Nots of the new economic order. Not the same old rich/poor divide but the future split of who will find work and opportunities in the future and who won’t. I quote Friedman for two reasons; one he’s a lot smarter than me and also because he draws an interesting parallel to the Gi... Read More
Comments (2)My Friend is Surviving...
I met an old childhood friend at the NY Gift Show as I was walking the aisles. Actually, I sought him out in order to say hello and to see how his business is doing. He was probably average of executives at any of the shows this summer; optimistic on the outside and scared on the inside. He took me through the stream of consciousness that has been playing in his head over the last year; “I... Read More
Comments (1)Stats from the Turnaround Management Assoc.
According to the TMA; Only 20% of distressed businesses recover. You can imagine what that means for the other 80%; they limp along a shadow of their former self or they disappear into another firm or into the bankruptcy process. That high number goes to one thing – not acting soon enough. A recent client of ours (outside the gift business) waved the white flag while the last few dollars... Read More
Comments (0)Too Many Eggs
Everyone knows the axiom about the risk of having too much business with too few customers. And most of us try to avoid it. Even the few companies who are greatly imbalanced know this and have plans to fix it. Most often, they never really fix this problem and it never really becomes an issue. Recently I worked with a firm that had most of their business with one customer. Well, that cu... Read More
Comments (0)The Benefits of Bank Debt
This is a true story about three companies I’ve worked with; David’s, John’s and Jack’s. David had bank debt while Jack and John each had investors. Over the course of time each business stumbled and got into trouble. John and Jack continued on their merry way. They spent the first 6 months hoping sales would pick up, the second six months were spent making what felt like deep cuts and t... Read More
Comments (0)New Product Disaster
I recently worked with a company (a great company) who hired a fancy-pants marketing guy and sold a huge big-box program. Sounds good right? Well they fumbled on the execution and got ALL the product back. This killed their cashflow, clobbered their credibility with their bank and forced them into a turnaround. Talk about Hero-to-Zero. The turnaround was highly successful and 10 months l... Read More
Comments (0)3 Types of Gift Businesses
Yesterday I visited an old friend and former customer of mine. She was accepting 13 pallets (yes, 13 pallets) of new product from a Gift manufacturer that afternoon. This company is now her primary vendor while I know very well who used to be. So what happened? The original vendor who put her into this category was sold and new management has since lost its way. Well, maybe that’s not t... Read More
Comments (3)Enjoy Your Chosen Path...
I recently worked with a gentleman who was running his family’s 3rd generation business. Actually, he was running it right into the ground. Losses in 2008 were $500,000 and he had changed exactly nothing for 2009. So under the very best conditions he would lose another $500,000 – probably more. At some point, I suspect, that starts to hurt. A quick review of his financials spelled out the... Read More
Comments (1)The Three Legs of Money Management
Today I met with a CEO who shared a wonderful analogy of managing money in a business. He said; “It’s very simple, a business is a three-legged stool and you need to have your money in three places; Inventory, Receivables and Cash. If you have too much in any one place, the stool is off-balance and could eventually tip over.” This reminds me of the experience a friend is currently having try... Read More
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