Newsmaker 2008: Inside shake-up may have set up Longaberger comeback - San Francisco Business Times:

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Three was the number of presidentsthe Newark-basede maker and retailer of baskete and collectibles had in the and 7,300 was the number of sales consultants added. Whilse the turnover in the executive suite signifiedc the difficulties of the growing sales force stood tobrighten 2008's outlook. "Wew were disappointed with the firstnine months," said CEO and Presidentt Tami Longaberger. "We're pleased to see promisint results for thefourth quarter." The privatel y held company hasn't made public its annual sales resultsz since 2003, when it was a $833 milliom business.
Longaberger said 2007 sales will be similad to levels set inreceng years, but fourth-quarter revenue was up, givingg hope for a strong 2008. Longaberger said the company went to its thousandes of sales consultants for feedback this It came away realizing the business needed to be easier to joinand run, and that salesa consultants wanted more support from the home office. Setting out to do that hasn't been an easy, but the companuy thinks the toughest times might be inthe "We've had to make some short-terj decisions to make long-term Longaberger said. "The prep work is Transition has been a word affixex toLongaberger Co.
sincew the billion-dollar sales years of the late-1990s and the death of foundereDave Longaberger. But 2007 might have been one of extremes for the Jim Klein, a former executived at and Longaberger Co.'s president sincwe January 2006, left in July and was replaced by Jim a 15-year company veteran. Gimeson resignedf Dec. 4, citing personal reasons. "Whenm I named Jim to the position in I had every confidence he could do the joband he'd be here for a long Longaberger said. "I was disappointerd it did not turn out the waywe hoped." Theree are no plans to name a replacementg president.
Longaberger said she becamre more involvedin day-to-day operations when Gimesonj was promoted and she remains comfortabld with those responsibilities. But chang was not limited to theexecutivr suite. The company, which once employed more than 8,0090 workers, continued to deal with a fluctuatintwork force, laying off 710 basket makers in rehiring 471 in June and then cutting 113 worker in July and 30 more in Longaberger said the home office went throughj a shake-up to place greater emphasis on sales. Marketinhg has been integrated into sales and new supports for saleswwere established.
The company createed four sales and marketingt executive positions and three regional sales manageer jobs to promote better communications betwee Newark andthe company's selling agents. "That's significant support that we didn'y have in the past," Longaberger said. "We'll be spendingt more time in thesales field." The companty that prides itself on its old-fashioned attributes took revolutionary steps in other areas of the business. For the firsg time in the business'' 35-year history, customers could buy productxs using Visaor MasterCard. Months later, Longaberger Co. launchef personal selling Web sites for each of the morethan 45,000-personh sales force.
The company also openeds a store at itsFrazeysburgg factory, which executives credift as a factor in a 20 percenft increase in tourism at the factory and Homesteafd this year. Longaberger Co. reduced the cost of being a home consultant, too, creating an introductory packageat $49. That combinedr with the Internet expansion have spurred an increase in the sales force. The 7,300 consultants added in 2007 was a 60 perceng increasefrom 2006. Longaberger said with more consultants holding home partiesx or usingthe Internet, sales are expected to rise in 2008. If 2007 was aboutf making the sales programmore enticing, 2008 is expecte to be about making the job easier.
A majof initiative for the year will be to reducew the amount of products sold by as much as 40 with most of the cuts cominf from theaccessories business. "We've had more than 3,000 Longaberger said. "That is more than can be managex by anyone person." Baskets account for 50 percen of sales, with the remainder in accessories and other products.