attempting to fill customers’ orders by chasing goods from other parts of
the country.
Simplify, focus, act
In Maxmin’s eyes, the business was inefficient and over-complicated.
Drastic action was needed if Laura Ashley was going to be coaxed back
into profitability, and its core strengths were to be developed for the future.
On 30 September 1991, Maxmin unveiled his plans to reorganize and sim-
plify the business. Under the proposed programme, entitled ‘Simplify,
Focus, Act’ (SFA), operating structures were to be simplified, with the
removal of over 80 head office management posts, along with two layers of
field management in the UK and one layer in the US. Meanwhile the US
head office at Mawah, New Jersey was to be relocated to a smaller site in
the same region. To improve the international coordination and integration
of the business, systems, distribution, finance, buying, design and product
development would be managed and run as single global activities.
Managers responsible for each of these activities would come together to
form a Global Operations Executive which would be responsible for
overall management at Laura Ashley. To accomplish this, all duplicate and
obsolete computer systems were to be written off, with a view to introduc-
ing common systems across the whole business. Financial reporting would
consequently be improved, and then coordinated through Andrew
Higginson. A new ‘Futures Function’, headed by former Bain & Co con-
sultant David Oliver, would be established, with responsibility for basic
research, business analysis, and strategic planning. The Group Marketing
function would cease to exist. Instead a Group Collection Development
(GCD) team would take over responsibility for the development of the
Laura Ashley product offering. In particular, GCD would ensure that lead
times were reduced; the Laura Ashley brand was consistently positioned
throughout the world; and that duplication of activities was eliminated.
Communications and public relations would be handled separately by a
Central Marketing Services group. Finally, a new Director of Human
Resources was to be recruited, with responsibility for the development of
a global human resource strategy. As for dealing with the distribution dif-
ficulties, Maxmin had other plans.
Getting by with a little help from some friends
The recovery package won the support of the financial institutions of the
City of London, so much so that an existing loan agreement was replaced
with a much more favourable facility, drawn up with the company’s ‘seven
444 Relationship Marketing