Serving as CRO and Implementing a Strategic Assessment and New Business Model Prototype
The Challenge
A fashion jewelry retailer with approximately 15,000 independent sales representatives, was facing declining EBITDA and deteriorating business performance. Serving as CRO, Mackinac Partners (acquired by Accordion in 2021) quickly performed financial and operational assessments to help ownership evaluate its strategic alternatives; ultimately determining that the Company’s highest value was as a going concern. While marketing the Company to select buyers, negotiating multiple term sheets, and selecting an acquirer, the business continued to deteriorate. The selected acquirer opted not to pursue the transaction and the Board, with our team’s assistance, determined a controlled wind down of the existing operations was the next best alternative.
Services
Interim CRO
Strategic Business Assessment
Sell-Side Advisory
E-commerce Pilot
The Execution
- Led a previously dysfunctional management team to maintain the confidence of the Board’s decision while building, implementing and launching a new ecommerce platform, which was initially fed by over $20MM (book value) worth of inventory on hand.
- Developed the IT infrastructure, marketing materials, and readied inventory management; all while managing under the current business model with limited cash.
- Repositioned the business to focus on sustainability as an ecommerce business.
The Results
As CRO and strategic and financial advisors our team evaluated strategic options to save the Company as a going concern. We successfully repositioned the Company’s business model – moving from direct sales to an ecommerce platform.