ODY CORMIER GOT THE NEW BUSINESS, Bill Rodgers Sportswear, up and running last June. Cormier's company and his wife own 84% of the new venture, Bill Rodgers 9%, Rob Yahn the remaining 7%. The first five months' sales totaled $1 million, and sales for '88 are projected at $4 million. Moreover, the company is already profitable, thanks to tight production controls, more pricing diversity, and the ability to make quick design changes.
"We did have marketing problems," concedes Christine Scanlon, who joined the new company as a vice-president. "There was a lot of negative press over what happened to Bill, especially in the Boston area. People still say, 'Gee, we thought Bill Rodgers had gone out of business.' But my question is: if Bill Rodgers & Co. was so sick, why are we so healthy now?"
Seated next to her in the offices of their St. Johnsbury, Vt., factory, Ody Cormier bangs his hand on a metal table. "I've dealt with a lot of bankers over the years," he snorts, "and I've been in problem situations before. But I've never experienced anything like this in my life. This whole thing was a bad circumstance orchestrated by the bank, and everybody lost in the end -- especially the creditors. All Bradley seemed to care about was clearing the decks, and. . ." bang! again ". . . that's just what they did. If you need a doctor, you don't call in an undertaker."
For understandable reasons, the Bank of Boston remains tight-lipped about the whole matter, preferring to invoke the principal of client confidentiality. Jack Bradley himself has been unavailable for comment, but bank spokesperson Wayne Taylor does concede that the contretemps is a "no-win situation for everyone.
"I will say, though," Taylor commented recently, "that we find ourselves bridling at the characterization that the bank took precipitious action. Our business is one of nurturing entrepreneurial effort and helping small businesses grow. When we assume possession of collateral, it's the last thing we want to do -- a last resort. But it's also a necessary and accepted guarantee in order to protect the interests of the very businesses that we're trying to grow, as well as the interests of our depositors and the community at large."
As for Rob Yahn, he is now working for CML Group -- the very first company that wanted to buy Bill Rodgers & Co. His travails with the Bank of Boston are not over yet. Last fall, he reached an agreement on the sale of his house; the day before the closing, however, he discovered that the SBA had not come through with the necessary approval to release him from his obligations on the original loan. The deal collapsed. On Christmas Eve, Rodgers's attorney was told by the bank that foreclosure proceedings would be reinstated unless the two principals began making monthly payments of $7,000 on the outstanding interest.
"My wife kept telling me that Bradley really wanted to go after us," Yahn says today, "that the bank didn't just want its money back -- it wanted it from us. I never really believed that before, but I guess I believe it now."
Rodgers spent the winter in Arizona, training for the Boston Marathon and seeking corporate sponsorship for the masters' road-racing circuit he and old rival Frank Shorter are trying to put together. Beyond that, he plans to keep a hand in the promotional and marketing efforts of the new clothing company. What he won't do is get into another business venture with any element of personal risk. He says he wants only "small-scale, short-term, no-risk deals."
"One thing I realize now," says Boston Billy, "is that I do a better job of communicating than a lot of the lawyers and agents and businessmen who've represented me. Once you start bringing in all those layers, things deteriorate. I know that's what happened here. To this day, I have mixed feelings about Rob. To a certain extent I feel misled by him -- and it's cost me a lot of money."
For the money -- and because it is what he has always done best -- Rodgers will keep running. And no race brings out the warrior in him like the Boston Marathon. When the pack takes off from Hopkinton, 26 miles and change from the finish line, the biggest challenge facing it will be Heartbreak Hill. Rodgers should take it in stride. After all, he's a master.
POSTSCRIPT
After weeks of preliminary negotiations, Rodgers returned to Massachusetts for a meeting on February 19, at which he concluded a settlement with the Bank of Boston. Under the terms of the agreement, the bank purchased his house in Dover in exchange for the extinguishing of his remaining indebtedness. Rodgers also signed a personal-service contract that provides for him to represent the bank at a number of public functions. Describing the meeting as "businesslike but friendly," Rodgers said, "I've always been a compromiser, and in the end that's what we achieved, a compromise. My financial -- and athletic -- future is now secure." Asked how it felt to see Jack Bradley again, he said, "There was some tension in the air, but I think we were more relieved than anything. Business is business, and sometimes it gets tough. I'm just glad I don't have his job."
STORY PROPOSAL
There are some business failures that involve more than the loss of a company. They involve homes, reputations, friendships. Seidom do we got a chance to see such a failure played out as dramatically as in the case of Bill Rodgers & Co. Granted, the story is not a pleasant one, raising (as it does) questions that nobody likes to think about. But the risk is real, and -- as Rodgers discovered -- those who don't acknowledge it only increase their chances of becoming its next victim.
