A Journey from £250k Loss to
£200k Profit within 2 Years
Jan’s story of reviving a business through strategic planning
Facing Bleak Reality
I became the Finance Director of a craft mail order business that had experienced years of decline, selling crafts that were out of fashion and just before I joined we had bought two successful knitting craft businesses, just before knitting itself went into decline. Shortly after I joined a new Managing Director was appointed; we had just lost £250k in the past year. Jeff had joined from head office and got the four Directors together including myself and spelt out that unless we turned around the business we would have to close at a loss of over 100 jobs. This news was compounded by hard economic times and an increase in tax rates, hitting consumers, our customers especially hard.Implementing Radical Changes
We met as a Board over a few meetings, where we remained focussed on saving the business and hammered out a completely different business strategy. As part of the strategy, to achieve a swift turnaround, we embarked on a thorough evaluation of our marketing campaigns, analysing their profitability and any initiatives that were yielding losses were promptly eliminated. Additionally, a strategic shift was made in our customer care policy, ensuring immediate dispatch of partial orders, even if stock availability was pending, even though this meant higher costs. Moreover, recognising the potential in the needlecraft market, the business introduced a line of needlecraft products, sourced from the United States.The Transformation and Survival
The company performance was transformed and within just two years, we managed to reverse its fortunes, turning a loss of £250k into an annual profit of over £200k. Customers were much happier too. This not only helped save the business but also secured 100 employee’s jobs.
Jan feels this story demonstrates the power of strategic planning. At the Sanders Partnership we can help develop robust strategic plans and identify opportunities for growth. Whether you are a startup or an established business, whatever your size we are your partner on your journey to success.The Transformation and Survival
The company performance was transformed and within just two years, we managed to reverse its fortunes, turning a loss of £250k into an annual profit of over £200k. Customers were much happier too. This not only helped save the business but also secured 100 employee’s jobs.
Jan feels this story demonstrates the power of strategic planning. At the Sanders Partnership we can help develop robust strategic plans and identify opportunities for growth. Whether you are a startup or an established business, whatever your size we are your partner on your journey to success.
