Category Archives: Companies

The Business of Ed Sayres’ Inspired ASPCA

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Ed-SayresIt may be a non-profit organization, but The ASPCA encountered substantial fiscal success due to a change in pace of its fundraising efforts.  It was Ed Sayres who turned things around, while he was CEO and President between 2003 and 2013.

Based on Sayres’ philosophy—“Say what you do, do what you say” – between 2003-2009, revenues at the ASPCA shot up from $43 to $116million.  Sayres basically altered the organization’s fundraising model from annual/semi-annual model to a monthly contribution model.  He did this because of what he witnessed early on in his career.  Once he joined ASPCA, he set the organization’s goal to reach 150,000 monthly donors within four years.  He transformed expectations.  Sayres explained that success was not a mere case of small annual gifts and instead looked toward an organization’s capacity to “cultivate long-term relationships.” Thanks to Sayres’ philosophy, today, 60 percent of the ASPCA’s net revenue comes from 200,000 monthly donors.

Ed Sayres has dedicated over three-and-a-half decades to enhancing the lives and welfare of animals.  During this time he has made strides in the issues of pet overpopulation and animal cruelty.  It was due to Sayres’ entrepreneurial mind that the ASPCA increased to higher levels of national prominence, developing strong partnerships nationwide.

Colliers Hires New President for US Operations

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Collier International is expanding its executive team by creating a new position for Craig M. Robinson. Robinson will take over as president of Colliers’ US operations. He will have the job of managing all the daily business of the company’s commercial real estate services, including business development and operations. Robinson will be directly supervised by Colliers’ Americas’ CEO Dylan Taylor.

Before joining Colliers Robinson was the president of corporate services at Cassidy Turley, overseeing the firm’s corporate services business. He was also responsible for the operations of accounts and strategic planning. Robinson also took part on the executive committee of the board of directors.

Taylor discussed the crucial role Robinson will be playing in the organization and success of Colliers:

“His strong experience in corporate services, equity investments, and government and public-sector occupier services–as well as his banking and consulting experience–gives him the breadth and depth of knowledge necessary to lead our U.S. business.”

Toys “R” Us Struggling to Play the Competition Game

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Toys R Us Posted Net Losses in 2013
Toys R Us Posted Net Losses in 2013

As the economy struggled in its continuing bid at recovery, Toys “R” Us took a lot of the brunt as sales plummeted in 2013. The giant toy store chain reported a net loss of $210 million during the fourth quarter of 2013 and a total loss of $1 billion for the year. The losses were blamed on fierce competition from on-line sellers such as Amazon, and discount department stores like Wal-Mart.

Earnings for 2012 totaled $239 million, accentuating the challenges of last year’s marketplace.

The private held retailer posted a decrease in same-store sales of 4.1 percent in the US and 2.2 percent internationally during the fourth quarter of 2013. Those figures are an important indicator of a retailer’s overall health, and they included the crucial holiday season.

“It was a challenging year, with declines in both our domestic and international segments,” CEO Antonio Urcelay said in a statement to investors.

“The U.S. business experienced the more significant downturn, primarily due to a decrease in net sales, margin pressure and one-time items, including the write-down of excess and obsolete inventory as we take the necessary and prudent steps to improve the business.”

Toys “R” Us did have a good year in China, however. As the Chinese economy continues to expand and more people are climbing the affluence ladder, there is more disposable income available to spend on children’s playthings.

So far this year things are looking up a bit for Toys “R” Us here at home. So far there has been a 3.5 percent increase in same-store sales in the US due to an increase in entertainment related toys connected to beloved movie franchises. Net sales for all of 2013 totaled $12.5 billion. That is $1 billion less, or 7.4 percent, from 2012.

Despite Bad Weather FedEx Posts Profits

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Profits did not meet expectations
Profits did not meet expectations

FedEx announced a 5 percent rise in their profit margin compared to last year, which fell short of expectations of analysts.

The announcement was made last Wednesday and proclaimed net income of $378 million, which translates to $1.23 per share for the quarter which ended on February 28. This fell short of the prediction by analysts of $1.45 per share.

Revenue climbed by 3 percent to $11.3 billion, also lower than Wall Street’s expectation of $11.43 billion. Most of the increase can be credit to improvements in the ground shipping business since express-delivery has been languishing.

By the end of FedEx’s fiscal year, which will be in May, earnings are expected to reach between $6.55 and $6.80 per share. Not bad, but below the expected $6.89. In pre-market trading FedEx shares fell by 2 percent. Their shares had dropped by 3.6 percent this year after gaining a startling 57 percent last year.

Lego Movie Perfectly Timed to Boost Lagging Sales

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Number One Box Office Hit:The Lego Movie
Number One Box Office Hit:The Lego Movie

After what Lego exec Soren Torp Laursen called “supernatural increases” in sales “over the last eight years,”Dutch toy maker Lego can sure use a leg up this year from lagging sales posted in 2013. Lego is hopeful that the popularity of “The Lego Movie” will translate into improved sales figures. So far “The Lego Movie” has been number one at the box office for the past three weeks in a row in the US.

Lego has maintained its popularity over the years, even in the face of fierce competition from seductive digital games, especially mobile apps formatted for Apple iPads. But last year Lego reported a tiny rise in sales in its US consumer market of 1 percent to $1.35 billion. That number represents an almost 8 percent share of the US toy market, marking Lego as the third largest toy manufacturer in America.

In 2012 overall revenue for Lego worldwide equaled about $4 billion. US sales contributes to a large portion of Lego’s overall sales, and in 2012 US sales skyrocketed by 26 percent. The 2013 sales slowdown prompted this commented from Laursen, the head of Lego’s North American business division.

“Our U.S. sales growth last year was more moderate than the supernatural increases we recorded over the last eight years.”