A quick return to profit
Signorino started revamping the company by finding money in the existing operations.
“I needed to make quick decisions,” says Signorino. “My focus was to make money. Most of the time, there is money to be had in the operating budget. You just have to find it.”
Signorino found the majority of the funds that he needed to return the company to a positive bottom line in a few areas. For instance, he reduced the sales and marketing budget by $4 million after scrutinizing the advertising frequency.
“We kept on advertising, but by switching from 30-second spots to 15-second spots, we increased the frequency while reducing the cost, and the reach is about the same,” says Signorino.
He also identified excess capacity in the production plant in American Samoa. This change was vital to the swing in the bottom line because by reducing the cost of processing, he also increased the product margins.
“We increased our output and throughput by altering our work weeks in the plant when possible,” he says. “We reduced some of our work weeks from five days down to four days, which also helped reduce our energy costs.”
Productivity measures were put in place that increased the amount of product being produced using the same workforce.
The end result was more cash and a more efficient operation.