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 Posté le: Lun Sep 30, 2013 6:44 pm Sujet du message: Business growth: Growth spurts |
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{Business growth: Growth spurts}
Native Shoes CEO Scott Hawthorn: the company has been very fortunate to see such impressive demand|PHOTO © Dominic SchaeferBy Emma CrawfordTue Sep 10, 2013 12:01am PSTNative Shoes: Tight supplyYou may have seen these shoes at the beach, in the mall or out on the town, on the feet of adults, children and even celebrities. They are sold through an online store and distributorships in 40 countries around the world.But good luck finding a pair to buy – they've been sold out for months. Vancouver's Native Shoes footwear is made from foam-injected,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]discount moncler jackets[/url],[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler sale[/url], molded polymer. They are colourful,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler down jackets[/url], washable, waterproof and odour-resistant,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]discount moncler jackets[/url], making comparisons to Crocs – or, the 'C-word,' as they are known at the company – inevitable.After launching its product at a Las Vegas tradeshow in 2009, Native Shoes started booking orders right away.Growth in demand has turned out to be much stronger than the company anticipated. Swift sales led to the summer 2013 line being sold out before the season even took off,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler outlet[/url], with attempts to view the collection online being met with a large banner saying that the online store has been taken offline until it restocks in the fall.Now-CEO Scott Hawthorn said this is illustrative of one of the challenges faced by a small company that is growing quite quickly."You have to look at the available capital that you have and deploy it in a way that allows you to recycle that money back into the company," he said."It's very difficult earlier on to tell exactly what your growth is going to be."Cathy Burrell, a retail consultant at Cavern Retail Consulting, said this could have unanticipated consequences."That's pretty shocking that the whole season is sold and they're not even encouraging people to place advance orders," she said, explaining that customers being met with the "Sold out" banner may just lose interest and walk away."In retail that's like a mortal sin. You want to build a buzz for your next season."Hawthorn said the company is going through some changes, which will hopefully prevent something similar from happening again. He and a group of other investors recently acquired controlling interest, and Hawthorn has moved from acting to full-time CEO, replacing co-founder Damian Van Zyll De Jong, who left the company earlier this year."We've raised capital and we've put the new board structure and management team in place," he said."We're looking at putting a tighter operational structure in play that will allow us to plan for the future and best estimate what kind of sales we are going to be able to do in the following season so that we get to the point where we're not selling out so early."Hawthorn said the company is shipping fall product now, and it will be available in local retailers by the end of summer.E-Cycle Electric Vehicles: Short-staffedWith zero emissions and an operating cost of between a tenth and a third of a cent per kilometre,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler down jackets[/url], electric vehicles offer a green and economical alternative to traditional wheeled transportation methods.So says Vancouver's E-Cycle Electric Vehicles, which has been selling and servicing electric bicycles, bike scooters, trikes and motorcycles in Vancouver for eight years.Until about two years ago, the business consisted of owner and manager Gordon World and one additional employee. Tight margins in the sector started forcing the company's competitors to close their doors.E-Cycle survived by moving to more of a service model and started servicing not only its products, but electric vehicles of all brands – something the competition wasn't doing."We've had three or four competitors close in the last three to 12 months,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler on sale[/url], and those orphaned customers have come to us,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler on sale[/url]," said World. "Our service demand has gone up because those customers have nowhere else to go."The company has had to respond to this rapid growth by hiring more service staff, but this has proven to be a challenge as the skills required to service these vehicles are pretty specialized. There are no schools that teach these skills,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler sale[/url], said World, so E-Cycle has had to come up with some creative solutions to address its staffing requirements.One source has been the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association – a monthly meetup known as the Kilowatt Hour."[The meetup] attracts enthusiasts, and some of these enthusiasts become proficient in repairing and modifying their own bikes," said World.Another way the company has addressed the staff shortage has been to look no further than its own front door."One of our first employees was actually a customer who had done some neat modifications on his bike,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler outlet[/url], and we said, 'Hey, that's pretty cool, looks like you know what you are doing, how would you like to come work for us?'" World said."So sometimes customers can become employees too."Thanks to its resourceful recruiting, E-Cycle has grown from two employees to eight over the last two years. •Vancouver footwear company getting a leg up with some paparazzi promotionNative Shoes, described by CEO Scott Hawthorn as a local company with global aspirations, is getting some big-name attention. Its product has been photographed on the feet of some well-known celebs, including:•Pax and Maddox Jolie-Pitt, sons of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt;•South Park creator Trey Parker; and•Portia de Rossi, wife of Ellen DeGeneres.Tags: strategy and marketing, retail
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