sgb weekly 1246
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SGB WEEKLY 1246TRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 12, 2012ISSUE 1246
The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Sporting Goods Industry
MITCH MODELL"UNDERCOVER
BOSS"
FOR 45 YEARS WE’VE BEEN DRIVING INSOLE TECHNOLOGY FORWARD. There’s no question that gel insoles provide great comfort. But even though they feel great,
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This is Spenco today:A collection of casualfootwear, insoles andaccessories that areeasy to merchandiseand sell. Great pricing,
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SpencoGel_SGBW_Oct2012.pdf 1 9/24/12 7:59 AM
NOVEMBER 12, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 3
Copyright 2012 SportsOneSource, LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed by writers and contributors to SGB WEEKLY are not necessarily those of the editors or publishers. SGB WEEKLY is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. Articles appearing in SGB WEEKLY may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the publisher. SGB WEEKLY is published weekly by SportsOneSource, LLC, 2151 Hawkins Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28203; 704.987.3450. Send address changes to SGB WEEKLY , 2151 Hawkins Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28203; 704.987.3450
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The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Sporting Goods Industry
NOVEMBER 12, 2012ISSUE 1246
ON THE COVER: Mitch Modell, CEO of Modell's Sporting Goods works "undercover" at his company's stores appearing on CBS' premier of "Undercover Boss".
NEWS 4 BY THE NUMBERS German Court Rules in ADIDAS' Favor in Nike Patent Infringement Case OUTDOOR RETAILER Confirms One-Day Shift in Show Dates 6 MOVERS & SHAKERS SKINS COMPRESSION Sues UCI Over Doping Scandal FEATURES 8 THE NEW FACE of Online Customization 14 MITCHELL MODELL Goes Undercover
DEPARTMENTS 18 JOB CLASSIFIEDS
8Wild Things "redefines the technical garment"Photo courtesy of Wild Things
BY THE NUMBERS
6.7%Warnaco Group reported revenues in its Swimwear Group, which is largely Speedo, grew 6.7 percent in the third quarter, to $42.0 million from $39.3 million in the same period a year ago. The group shrunk its operating loss in the period to $429,000 from $3.4 million a year ago. Overall, Warnaco, which recently reached an agreement to be acquired by PVH, reported net revenues fell 5 percent, compared to the prior year period, to $611.5 million and were flat in constant currency.
$258.1 MILLIONBig 5 Sporting Goods Corporation reported net sales increased to $251.8 million from net sales of $234.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Same store sales increased 5.2 percent for the third quarter of 2012 versus the comparable period in the prior year.
17.9%Asics America Group, which includes the United States, Brazil and Canada, reported that first half 2012 net income was up 17.9 percent over the same half in 2011. Net sales for the period were up 14.1 percent on a currency-neutral basis and operating income jumped 53.5 percent. The first half saw double-digit growth in all categories, which includes footwear, apparel and accessories. Asics America Corporation expects similar growth in the second half of 2012 and is on track to reach its goal of a billion dollars in sales by 2015.
11%R.G. Barry Corporation earned $6.1 million, or 54 cents per share, in the first quarter ended September 29, down 11.0 percent from $6.9 million, or 61 cents, a year ago. Net sales reached $47.2 million, down from net sales of $50.2 million one year ago. The company said quarterly net sales in its Footwear segment, although down $3.9 million from the comparable period last year, reflected a gross profit as a percentage of net sales at 41.4 percent, which was relatively flat versus the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
NEWS
the Court ordered the injunction effect to be lifted, and has now set it aside altogether. "Adidas vigorously denies it has infringed the patent, and has filed for cancellation
of the patent, with documents showing that the technology has been known since the 1940s," Adidas said in a statement. "Since the founding of our company we have been a leader in innovation and design, continuously developing and launching innovative products to help athletes of all skill levels to achieve their personal best."
Nike has claimed that Primeknit infringed the patent of its Flyknit sneaker that was launched in February. Adidas debuted its shoe at the London Olympics in July with a limited run - 2012 pairs - costing 220 pounds ($350) each.
The uppers of the green Nike Flyknit shoe and the red and white Adidas Primeknit shoe are both made from one piece of fused yarn, with both shoes having the appear-ance that they have been knitted. Sneaker uppers are usually constructed with several pieces stitched and glued together.
"We will continue to aggressively protect our intellectual property rights," said a Nike spokesman in Germany, as the company told Reuters in Germany that the decision was just one step in the legal process.
GERMAN COURT RULES IN ADIDAS' FAVOR IN NIKE PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASE
Adidas stated that on November 7 the Nuremberg District Court rejected Nike's request for an injunction to stop Adidas from manufacturing and selling its Primeknit shoe in Germany.
An injunction was previously granted to Nike without prior notice to Adidas on August 28. At the time, the Court did not have the opportunity to hear Adidas' side of the story. Just a few days after Adidas filed its case,
OUTDOOR RETAILER CONFIRMS ONE-DAY SHIFT IN SHOW DATESIn response to feedback and demand from the outdoor marketplace, organizers of the Outdoor Retailer trade shows have confirmed a one-day date shift for the semi-annual events effective Winter Market 2013 through Summer Market 2014. Under the new date structure, shows will run from Wednesday through Saturday, with the respective demo event preceding the shows one day prior.
"The change in day pattern for the show is in response to feedback and data showing a growing preference for midweek travel and tradeshow business," said Kenji Haroutunian, Nielsen Expo Outdoor Group vice president and OR show director. "Date changes have many moving parts, and we're using this opportunity to better serve our core specialty retail audience, in addition to ensuring crucial exhibitor personnel needs are met in the tight downtown Salt Lake area."
Winter Market 2013 dates have already been announced and housing is open for the upcoming January event. Since hotel contracts for Summer Market 2013 through 2014 are being reworked, reservation details for show housing are not yet available.
Show organizers are using the date change to improve and adjust the way hotel rooms are allocated through Travel Planners, the new official housing partner of Outdoor Retailer.
Adidas adizero Primeknit Running Shoe. The uppers of the green Nike Flyknit shoe and the red and white Adidas Primeknit shoe are both made from one piece of fused yarn, with both shoes having the appearance that they have been knitted.
4 SGBWeekly.com | NOVEMBER 12, 2012
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MOVERS & SHAKERS
Callaway Golf has eliminated its position of vice president and chief accounting officer, previously held by Marlo Cormier Platz, effective November 5 as a result of the company’s cost-cutting initiatives. According to a company filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Cormier Platz has agreed to remain with Callaway through the end of the year to assist with the transition of her responsibilities. Effective November 5, Bradley Holiday has been designated as the company's chief accounting officer in addition to his responsibilities as chief financial officer.
The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) announced that Dustin Dobrin has officially begun to serve as the association’s new director of research and information. Dobrin, who joined the association’s staff on September 4, takes the place of Dan Kasen, a 31-year employee of the association who retired on November 2.
Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, Inc., announced that two-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin has joined the brand.
Golfsmith International named Sue Gove as president and CEO. Gove, formerly president and COO of the combined Golfsmith and Golf Town business, has also served as the chief integration officer leading the Golfsmith-Golf Town combination, which was finalized this past July.
Wolverine Worldwide appointed Daniel Le Vesconte to the position of managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), with responsibility for executing the company’s strategic growth initiatives for this important geographic market.
PTS Sports announced the addition of USA Triathlon expert coaches Brett Daniels, Jennifer Henry and Holly Marzetti to the coaching staff. In addition, ultra endurance athlete Jennifer Vogel (USA Triathlon Level I) and up-and-coming elite amateur athlete Janet Daly will also serve as associate coaches.
The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) hired Andy Polk as its vice president. He succeeds FDRA’s former Vice President Stephanie Ward who recently accepted a position in Seattle, WA.
NEWS
6 SGBWeekly.com | NOVEMBER 12, 2012
SKINS COMPRESSION SUES UCI OVER DOPING SCANDAL
Skins Compression, a leading performance sportswear company, is seek-ing damages related to alleged mismanagement and poor handling of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal. The Swiss-based company has served the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) with a demand for $2 million. Skins has pledged to re-invest any monetary funds received from its action to support the future of clean cycling and to restore credibility in the sport.
Skins Compression also cited UCI President Pat McQuaid and Honorary President for Life Hein Verbruggen in the filing for their handling of a crisis that Skins alleges is the main cause for the significant loss of confidence in professional cycling by the public that has subsequently harmed the company’s international reputation. Skins has been a commercial supporter of world cycling for the last five years.
“The Lance Armstrong affair has damaged world cycling to the point where its reputation is possibly irreparable,” said Skins Compression Chairman Jaimie Fuller. “As a commercial partner, there are clearly implications to our brand image, and as a company that has built an association with cycling to support its belief in The True Spirit Of Competition, our reputation and credibility has potentially been significantly damaged.”
In its filing, Skins expressed concerns that cycling’s tarnished image, which is the result of years of cheating and doping that became clear in the Lance Armstrong case, has damaged the company.
Skins has associated itself with a multitude of commercial cycling partners across the world, including: USA Cycling, Cycling Australia and Bike NZ, Rabobank Cycling, Team Europcar, Team Lotto Belisol and Team NetApp. Skins was also the provider of high tech race suits to the USA Olympic Cycling team for the London Olympics.
“When we decided to invest in cycling by becoming a sponsor, we also made a significant financial commitment into a Research and Development program which runs in partnership with professional cycling and cyclists,” continued Fuller. “We have been proud of our associations with professional cycling, but we are now associated with a sport that commands little or no trust or respect from the general public. We believe that until it was forced into action by USADA’s comprehensive report, the UCI fundamentally failed to acknowledge the issues or act to save the credibility of cycling or its commercial partners.”
The company has enlisted international law firm Bonnard Lawson, from its offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, to assist it in the action against the UCI, McQuaid and Verbruggen.
Lance Armstrong
While online customized ordering through the e-commerce inter-faces of manufacturers is not new, the game is definitely changing. Companies like Converse and Nike have been offering color-custom-ization and direct-to-consumer ordering for several years. Reebok, Vans and others are also on board with online custom ordering. And Timbuk2 (bags and accessories) has offered “build your own bag” capabilities for several seasons, with the custom-color paneled bags being made in the U.S. and growing the company's online sales by 20 percent last season.
Champion System Worldwide offers custom online ordering for cycling and other teams via its champ-sys.com custom technical apparel website. Customers shop online just like any other e-com-merce engine, upload graphics, place team orders, and simply must meet minimums to fulfill their needs direct from the manufacturer.
The trend is not about bypassing a rep or a retailer, but about utiliz-ing technology to give customers what they want. And there’s a big leap between picking colors on sneakers and complete customiza-tion of apparel.
This week marks the launch of Newport, RI’s Wild Things custom on-line apparel ordering website wildthingsgear.com. The concept is revo-lutionary in terms of customer satisfaction, working capital required, finished goods on hand, risk, price structuring, manufacturing, and environmental responsibility. The program “redefines the very nature of the technical garment,” according to Wild Things CEO Ed Schmults.
Schmults has come to believe, through market research and 31 years of outdoor technical and tactical apparel and gear experience, that today’s customers are all about personalization. “We know what we want,” he says, “and technology has advanced to allow us to get it.”
From an environmental perspective, the garments are locally built in the U.S., shipped direct to consumer, and represent only what the customer wants, leaving no excess inventory for retailers or suppliers to deal with and discount, which in turn avoids the “race to the bot-tom,” to clear excess inventory at below-cost pricing. And, the gar-ments built by customers on wildthingsgear.com are still returnable. The site will feature some in-stock items.
To do this requires a non-traditional manufacturing model with higher value-added production. By effectively utilizing a stateside
By Aaron Bible
“I’M THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO OFFER THIS. IT’S A REVOLUTIONARY AND DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY, AND IT’S FUN TO DO.” Ed Schmults, Wild Things CEO
of Online Customization
The New Face
8 SGBWeekly.com | NOVEMBER 12, 2012
NOVEMBER 12, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 9
Wild Things Wind Pro Hoody includes a scuba-style hood and reinforced laminated chest pocket. Made with highly wind-resistant Polartec® Wind Pro® fleece.
10 SGBWeekly.com | NOVEMBER 12, 2012
labor force, sub-assemblies are continually being built and are then constructed into finished garments as custom orders come in. Schmults believes this works particularly well with technical garments because it al-lows customers to create functionality that’s important to them, whether that means com-petitive ice climbing, skiing, or hiking with the dog. He knows this isn’t high fashion, where it’s more about an artist/designer tell-ing a story and injecting his or her sense of style and expertise in cut and materials. “So much [in a technical garment] is how you use it,” he said. “This allows people to dial in that functionality.”
Schmults also points out that the model is scalable. The technology and manufacturing are both easily scalable, and offer a low-cost way to enter Asian and European markets with limited overhead. “Our outerwear offer-ing is distinctive in that it provides person-alization for individual customers at a mass production price,” said Schmults.
Data has shown, Schmults said, that cus-tomers at Nike iD (Nike’s footwear custom-ization program that drives a third of their online business) are willing to spend up to 50 percent more over a base price to get what they want. The apparel industry is very interested to see what consumers are willing to spend to get a custom-designed jacket. And with the instant data feedback available
through e-commerce, Schmults and others will be able to adjust their pricing and op-tions on the fly to meet customer demand.
In order to tap into the walk-in retail con-sumer, Wild Things is partnering with out-door specialty retail giant Moosejaw. With size runs on hand and floor staff armed with iPads in five of ten stores initially, and a presence on the Moosejaw e-commerce site, Wild Things will be taking advantage of an established customer base and the sales
and marketing efforts of the brick and mortar retailer.
Initial offerings on WildThingsGear.com will include an Insulight Jacket, WindPro Hoody, and Mountain Guide Jacket, with a hardshell Alpinist jacket, pants and custom-izable packs coming this winter. Because of the company’s long-standing relationship with suppliers, it is able to offer best-in-class materials including Polartec, Schoeller, PrimaLoft and more. Sizing is based on a
Photo courtesy of Wild Things
▲
Click to view Wild Things "design your own" video.
12 SGBWeekly.com | NOVEMBER 12, 2012
“typical outdoor industry fit,” with plans to introduce sleeve length and inseam length options next year.
Customization options for consumers in-clude not only material choices, but also a choice of a hood (+$40), left or right pocket (or no pocket), liner material and thickness choices, cuff and side panel color, logo color, zipper color, and stitch color on women’s gar-ments. Customers can even add personaliza-tion on the chest with up to 15 characters in a variety of fonts and thread color (personalized garments cannot be returned). Furthermore, the website offers advanced functionality such as a “sketch pad” where at-home designers can keep various designs on-screen before making a choice; and can even “share” their designs onto social media networks, crowd-sourcing opinions from friends before making a purchase—and driving socially generated traffic back to the Wild Things website.
Another forerunner in the online customiza-tion phenomenon is Beyond Clothing based in Eugene, OR. Dialing in the business for the last 16 years, founder Scott Jones was named Small Business Administration (SBA) Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003. "His work ethic has built a unique, custom-designed fleece clothing company that’s creating jobs right here at home. He’s gone from only hav-ing a dollar a day for food to employing 13 people. His commitment to a vision of what can be, and striving for excellence are the warp and woof of the American Dream," said SBA’s Thomas M. Sullivan. Beyond is currently at market with a full line of cus-tomizable base layers, softshells, waterproof
Scott Jones, Beyond Clothing Founder
shells, insulating pieces and accessories. In the micro-startup world, Northwest
Technical Outerwear—NWT3K—is also launching a custom apparel website this month. Seattle-based Nick Marvik will at-tempt to take a bite out of the market with the launch of his custom-designed online ordering platform and the introduction of a waterproof shell in five sizes.
Customers—whom he garnered person-ally by designing, cutting and sewing cus-tom apparel in his basement as a business student at Western Washington University—will be able to log on to nwt3k.com and build their own freestyle ski jacket with pocket, zipper, color and feature choices. His one-off jackets got enough attention as he worked his way through college that he decided to make a go of it in the highly competitive ski industry.
“I want to make sure everything’s going right before I bring other products to mar-ket,” said Marvik on the company’s focused launch. The 22 year old went from sewing in his basement to hiring one seamstress to working with a full Seattle-based manu-facturing facility with internationally sourced materials in just a year and a half.
“I wanted to get product quality to where
it would be completely acceptable in the snow sports industry before going to mar-ket,” Marvik said. “We’re launching an en-tirely new, very advanced, interactive web-site.” He developed the site in conjunction with a designer and software developer and the experience he gained working for lean startups in the Seattle area.
Only time will tell whether there is room in the custom-online apparel space for all players big and small—and how soon some of the larger players in the apparel industry jump on the custom bandwagon. ■
Nick Marvik, Founder, NWT3K
Photo courtesy of NWT3K
NOVEMBER 12, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 13
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By Thomas J. RyanGOES UNDERCOVERMITCHELL MODELL
NOVEMBER 12, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 15
itchell Modell, the charismatic leader of Modell’s Sporting Goods, can add reality TV star to his resume.
In July, Modell spent a week in disguise doing various lower-level jobs at his company for the season premiere of "Undercover Boss," which aired on November 2. The CBS show regularly tracks CEOs who go “undercover” working lower-level jobs to gain an unvarnished look at weaknesses within their companies.
Reportedly going further than any other contestant on the show, the president and CEO of Modell’s shaved his head on camera to hide his already popular persona among employees. A fake walrus mustache and a gruff voice were also adopted to fool his employees as he went on his company’s front lines.
To account for the cameras following him, Modell agreed to stage a fake reality show that featured him as one of the contestants. His character, Joey Glick, is a former pizza parlor owner looking to win funding to open a sports memorabilia shop. The employees would help decide if “Joey” earns the funding.
The show opened with a general description of Modell’s, which has 154 stores across 11 northeast states, with 3,800 employees and more than $600 million in annual revenues.
The chain was started in 1889 by his great-grandfather, Morris, as a push cart on Courtland Street in downtown Manhattan selling basics such as hats and gloves to people coming off ships. In the fifties and sixties, the CEO’s father, Bill, led the chain into sporting goods while teaching the retail business to Mitchell and his brother, Michael. In 1987, Mitchell and Michael took over as co-presidents and expanded the business from $18 million to $443 million.
“Running the business with your brother is incredible,” said Modell on the show. “It wasn’t about ego. You have a tremendous
amount of respect for each other.”Modell then relates how his brother died of complications resulting
from Hodgkin's disease in 2001, and laments that since his passing he has felt much more pressure in running the company. Said Modell to the cameras, “Michael was always a great listener. He always had time for people and people loved him for that. Michael was different than me as a leader in that I’m a no-nonsense guy. So if I went a little off the deep end, he would bring me back and wield me back in.”
With the lessons passed down from his father, Modell said he’s pas-sionate about customer service but also said over the years he has become internally known for his obsession over keeping down costs.
“Everybody in my company knows that we watch every dollar,” said Modell. “If it doesn’t drive sales or increase profits, what are we doing it for?...This year we’re opening 8 to 10 stores. We’re going to surround all our competition like locusts as we continue our aggres-sive expansion program.”
M
Modell also takes pride in his chain’s place as the oldest and largest family-operated sporting goods retailer in the country. The cameras went to his New Jersey home to see Modell teaching retail lessons to his sons, Matthew, 11, and Max, 10, who are being groomed to take over as co-CEOs one day. Modell quizzes them
Modells CEO Mitch Modell spent a week in disguise (right) for the season premier of 'Undercover Boss'. He had his head shaved, wore a bad mustache and spoke the rough voice of his alter ego Joey Glick to blend with employees.
"I’m usually the last one to know things and unless you know what the customers and your associates are feeling and experiencing, you don’t have a handle on it and I really want to
uncover things that are being kept from me that I could help fix.”
16 SGBWeekly.com | NOVEMBER 12, 2012
with questions like, "What's the most amount of people on line before we open up another register?" (The answer is 3.) The two boys have business cards reading "CEO in Training."
Modell tells the cameras he wants to go undercover to get a closer view of “some issues” facing the chain. As CEO, he’s “usually the last one to know things…Unless you know what your customers and as-sociates are feeling and experiencing, you don’t have a handle on it and I really want to uncover things that aren’t being fixed so I can make the company healthier.”
Having his family’s name on each door also “puts unbelievable pres-sure to make sure that our values that have been passed on for four generations continue to be passed on for the next hundred years.“
His first job on the Undercover Brother episode was working with assistant store manager, James, at the Modell’s store in Milford, CT, a state the chain entered five years ago. The underperforming store may close if results don’t improve. Modell is taught how to fold clothes and
smoothly. Hearing that “most upper managers and owners are clueless,” he learns how the long hours and tough work uploading and unloading boxes is driving high turnover rates among drivers.
Again, he relates that his brother “is probably turning in his grave today” knowing how little management pays attention to backend processes. Said Modell, “I’m embarrassed. Why would people still want to be with us?”
Finally, Modell in his last job during the week is back in a store opened last year in the Washington D.C. region working with one of the managers in the apparel department, Angel. He’s infuri-ated to find small and medium sizes are regularly out of stock at the store while also won over with April’s love for her job, her attitude, and dedication to customer service. Then he’s driven to tears to find out that April continues to live in a homeless shelter
pants and is chagrined to hear that his manager had to quit coaching and frequently misses his daughter’s games because the chain’s schedules aren’t flexible enough. Said Modell, “I keep telling everybody that the associates are number one when in reality they aren’t even on the radar screen.”
At his second job at Modell’s distribution center in the Bronx, he similarly flails attempting to work the machines on the loading dock. He finds out the distribution center worker he’s working alongside, Chris, is supporting his family on minimum wage for backbreaking labor. Modell tells the cameras, “I know I’ve been putting unbearable pressure on our management team on con-trolling our expenses and I just wonder if we went too far.”
He further laments that his own brother, Michael, had a strong commitment to making workers feel they were “part of the family and obviously somehow or another I might have gone off track.”
At his third job working alongside a truck driver, Kirk, he quickly sees how bottlenecks develop to prevent goods from moving
appears flummoxed trying to change clothes on a manikin. He praises the manager’s focus on cleanliness, merchandise presentation and customer attention while at the same time finding out that customers often walk out of the store because the store doesn’t carry enough high-end sneakers and often runs out of sizes.
After blowing his cover by asking too many probing questions, the manager candidly tells Modell to stop treating the Connecticut location like a “redheaded stepchild,” adding, “Why don't you give us the stuff on 42nd Street?”
Modell is aghast that the store regularly runs out of adult-size football
Mitch Modell also worked at the company's Bronx-area distribution center loading trucks and driving a delivery truck.
Disguised as Joey Glick, a former pizza store owner and contestant on a fake reality TV show, Mitch Modell gets on-the-job training working alongside the assistant store manager at Modell's store in Milford, CT.
“Everyone should take one day out of a year and work on the front lines with their associates... and
ask themselves, as CEO, ‘What can I do to make a difference?’ ”
NOVEMBER 12, 2012 | SGBWeekly.com 17
with her three children. Said Modell, “It liter-ally broke my heart. I’m the one who decides how much our associates are paid. And to think that one of our associates is homeless makes me sick.”
The epiphany moment comes as Modell recognizes the impact his relentless cost-cutting has had on his workforce’s quality of life. Modell declared, “I’m appalled with myself having seen some of my associates seem so stressed and so frustrated because I know how much pressure I’ve been put-ting on the whole organization to reduce ex-penses. And it came at the expense of our associates.”
He vowed to live up to the promise he made to his brother, Michael, to “reinstate the core values that he so passionately be-lieved in.”
In the next scene, the employees are invited to Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, to purportedly undergo the evaluation process in the fake reality show only to see “Joey” revealed as the chain’s CEO.
The assistant manager at the Connecticut store is told that someone has been spe-cifically charged with making sure that the state’s stores have an adequate supply of merchandise. The manager is also promot-ed and charged with building relationships with local leagues. Finally, he’s awarded a 7 day/6 night trip with his family.
The distribution worker is told that Modell’s compensation plan for the distribution area is being overhauled. Finding out the worker has been called out for missing too many work days, Modell promises to give the worker a check for $20,000 if he can work 90 straight days. The worker also is awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to take his little brother on a trip with the Brooklyn Nets team to one of their away games.
The truck driver is likewise told that the company is exploring different pay scales for drivers who work in the wee hours of the morning and other inconvenient hours. The driver is also promoted to yard supervisor to improve oversight of the distribution process and also given a $50,000 check.
The department manager in apparel is promoted to assistant manager with a $14,000 raise. Shedding tears, Modell also hands April a check for $250,000 to help her move out of the homeless shelter.
Modell also has since instituted new sys-tems to further fast-track promising staffers and sets up monthly round-tables with em-ployees to more quickly identify issues and problems. Personally, he has committed to seek out more one-on-one conversations across the organization, including visiting the Bronx distribution center more times in recent months than he had in the previous year and a half.
At a companywide meeting afterwards, Modell joked “my wife has not kissed me since I took my hair off” while heralding the week as the “most incredible education both personally and professionally that I’ve ever witnessed.”
He also makes one final promise to lose weight. Pointing to how many of his organi-zation’s routine tasks left him “physically and mentally exhausted,” he vowed to get in bet-ter physical shape to make sure he’s around as his kids grow older. Said Modell, “I want to make sure I don’t leave them the way my brother left me. I’m definitely committed to getting into shape as well as getting the company into shape.”
Speaking to the Boston Herald, Modell re-lated one of big lessons from the experience was around the importance of supporting your associates “quality of life and appreci-ating the work they do.”
The other was the importance of encour-aging open communication across the or-ganization.
“You don’t have to go on ‘Undercover Boss’ to experience what I did,” said Modell. “Everyone should take one day out of a year and work on the front lines with their associ-ates and just observe and see the trials and tribulations and obstacles they face and ask themselves, as CEO, ‘What can I do to make a difference?’ ” ■
▲Modell said he was going “undercover because when your last name is on the door, it puts unbelievable pressure to make sure that the values that have been passed on for four generations continue to be passed for the next 100 years.” Click to play the full episode of Undercover Boss.
THE FILA FLEXNET MEMORY HAS A SPECIALLY CONSTRUCTEDMEMORY FOAM FOOTBED, MOLDING TO YOUR FOOT WITH EACHSTEP. THAT MEANS INCREASED COMFORT, EXPERT CUSHIONINGAND A GREAT FIRST FEEL. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> FILA.COM
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THE FILA FLEXNET MEMORY HAS A SPECIALLY CONSTRUCTEDMEMORY FOAM FOOTBED, MOLDING TO YOUR FOOT WITH EACHSTEP. THAT MEANS INCREASED COMFORT, EXPERT CUSHIONINGAND A GREAT FIRST FEEL. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> FILA.COM
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