The Rubbermaid transplants to the operating team at O'Sullivan Industries were made to try to stave a flow of red ink, according to statements released today by million-dollar CEO Bob Parker.
The statements also featured a defense of the company's decision to move its corporate headquarters from Lamar to Atlanta.
"While our top line has shown a little improvement, the bottom line results of O'Sullivan Industries continue to be a challenge," Parker said, in a statement accompanying the company's announcement that it was reporting a net loss of $27.4 million on $268.8 million in sales in 2004.
The total was a huge dropoff from the $1.6 million net income on $289.2 million in sales in 2003.
"In an effort to alter the long-term direction of the company, the board of directors of O'Sullivan Industries has added several new key members to the company's executive team," Parker said. "The O'Sullivan Industries executive team is now in the process of strategically realigning the company and focusing the entire organization on the vital tasks of creating new top line growth and improving profitability."
In the statement the company released, Parker said the following are among strategic initiatives that are planned.
-"Creation of a new sales and marketing organization that will focus on targeted market segments and the key customers in those segments;
-"Expansion of new product initiatives that already include successful launches of our Coleman garage and business storage assortment and Intelligent Designs commercial office furniture;
-"Building a more capable and far reaching sourcing organization;
-"Focusing our factories on improving productivity and controllinmg costs;
-"Improving working capital management and cash flow through better planning, reduction in required inventory levels, improving vendor and customer terms, etc.; and
-"Moving O'Sullivan Industries' corporate headquarters from Lamar, MO to the Atlanta, GA area which will make the company more accessible to our valued customers as well as expanding our management recruiting opportunities."
Reasons given for the losses in 2004 included:
-Reduction in operating income a well as higher interest expense related to the September 2003 debt refinancing.
-A $3.3 million non-cash writeoff of debt issuance costs.
Of course, mentioned nowhere in the company's statements were the fact that the three new top company executives, including Parker, are all from Atlanta and that the state of Georgia is offering a tax incentive for companies that relocate their executive offices there.
Also not mentioned is the fact that the million-dollar CEO and other top executives have seen fit to eliminate from the company nearly every remaining vestige of the O'Sullivan family and others who have helped make it a success story in Lamar for the past 40 years.