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Hear
a 4-minute audio
recording of this interview.
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| Harvest-ROA: |
Mr.
Sellum, what are some forces and trends
taking place outside of Monarch likely to
have the greatest impact on Monarch's ability
to meet its goals during the next 2-3 years?
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| Mr.
Sellum: |
Monarch's
chief goal is revenue enhancement. We're
a manufacturer. We manufacture consumer
electronics products. Retailer consolidation
is putting significant pressure on our ability
to raise pricing as a revenue growth strategy.
When a retailer grows in size, it achieves
increased buying power -- putting pressure
on manufacturers like us to sell larger
quantities at lower prices. |
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Similarly,
expanding discount stores such as Floor-Mart
are putting additional pressure on manufacturers
to deliver value-added services. For example,
Floor-Mart is pushing for inventory consignment
of product shipments by manufacturers. What
this means is that we're responsible for
our inventory until it's sold to the customer.
This results in additional costs because
we assume the cost of product damage and
theft that take place before the customer
actually buys our product. |
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Internet
growth has added another dimension to the
sales mix. We're interested in Internet
marketing but have some questions that need
to be addressed first. For example: What
are Internet consumer demographics ? How
do you sell efficiently through this channel?
Will we reach new customers through Internet
sales or by cannibalizing from our existing
channels? |
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And
lastly, the economic downturn is impacting
our revenue. |
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| Harvest-ROA: |
Could
you describe your company's greatest strengths
and weaknesses? |
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| Mr.
Sellum: |
As
for strengths, we've got a great sales force.
Our reps are experienced and know their
business and key accounts. We've also got
quality products that are perceived as such
by retailers and consumers. Monarch has
brand identity. We've got a strong reputation
based on consistency, reliability and honesty. |
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Our
weaknesses? For one: we've got a big problem
with theft of our key products. As a result,
we have to spend sales time addressing theft
issues instead. Also, because our products
are easily stolen, they can't be kept on
open shelves. Consequently, some stores
refuse to carry our line because locating
them in the back room takes too much time.
It also seems that our products are often
out-of-stock and that we can't meet weekly
demand. This is due to retailers' inventory
tracking systems. |
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Another
weakness? Our relationships with customers
-- the retailers -- have become strained
due to our recent re-organization. |
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| Harvest-ROA: |
What
are Monarch's 2-3 most important strategic
priorities? |
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| Mr.
Sellum: |
Well,
for starters, we're working closely with
key customers, including Wal-Mart, to develop
new cutting-edge products. We're also investing
in a new technology that will allow our
sales force to be more effective and give
us a sustainable long-term advantage. We
hope this new technology will help us capture
data and share insights with our key customers.
Finally, we're looking to open new channels
- Internet and global markets -- with a
more effective and larger sales organization. |
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| Harvest-ROA: |
You're
Monarch's sales manager. What are the key
issues related to effectiveness in your
area of responsibility? |
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| Mr.
Sellum: |
Our
sales reps need tools and data to be more
effective. And as I mentioned earlier, they're
losing precious sales time having to address
non-value-added tasks while in the stores
like searching back rooms for the products
or building displays. The result: fewer
sales calls per day. |
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| Harvest-ROA: |
What
are critical success factors for your sales
organization? |
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| Mr.
Sellum: |
For
o ne: Leveraging technology and a strong
customer service team to better service
key customers. And two: Developing a strong
marketing message around technology improvements. |
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| Harvest-ROA: |
Thank
you for your time, Mr. Sellum. We may want
to follow-up with you to confirm our understanding
of this discussion. |
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| Mr.
Sellum: |
You're
welcome. Feel free to contact me if you
need anything else from our organization.
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