The managers' enthusiasm stems in part from the investment they have in their achievement. They are members of the group that includes all the sales reps, several retailers, and a few individuals who had bought the company from bankruptcy court about a year and a half earlier. The following year had been the first in Marmot's 20-year history that the company was profitable. And sales have been nothing short of spectacular since then: after hovering around $5 million in the early 1990s, they grew steadily to $11 million in 1994, and the company expects to increase that figure by 50% this year. The moratorium on new dealers, imposed in 1991, was lifted in 1993 -- after three seasons of on-time deliveries. Crisafulli predicts that Marmot will grow around 40% annually for the next few years.
Marmot continues to hammer away at its problems -- one by one. The company holds a strategic meeting each February, during which Marmot's management agrees on its primary goal for the coming year. In mid-1993, believing that its products were "going stale," Marmot management directed resources to new-product development. Randy Verniers headed up the four-person design committee. But he got stuck and was in danger of falling behind schedule. So Cooley proposed that he, Verniers, and a leading sales rep get out of the office and brainstorm. The three drove around Europe, stopping at outdoor shops. They examined designs, products, and styles of clothing and sleeping bags. Inspired, they returned after a few weeks to design, develop, and release 1994's line of sleeping bags -- the company's first new bags in more than a decade -- and a waterproof breathable fabric to rival Gore-Tex.
What does single-minded problem solving cost? "Most of these things don't require money," insists Crisafulli. Fixing Marmot's delivery problems "required no increase in cost. We spent a little money on trips to the Orient, but we added no personnel and no equipment. We didn't have any more money or any more time."
But as the problem-solving process at Marmot has matured the company has had to spend money to reach its goals. In 1994 Marmot turned to broadening market visibility and brand recognition. Other departments pared budgets to triple the marketing budget. But that intense focus required time that didn't exist: John Cooley couldn't possibly handle his expanded responsibilities alone. So his job was split: a vice-president of sales, Steve Hitchcock, was hired, and Cooley was free to focus solely on marketing.
While Hitchcock worked on expanding sales, Cooley launched an ambitious advertising effort. From running one ad in two publications the previous year, Marmot's marketing department reached out with a half dozen creative ads that ran for nine months in six publications.
Marmot, as part of its self-improvement program, asked some of its retailers to give it "report cards" on service. "We just got our first one back," a chagrined Crisafulli says. "We got a B minus." Marmot delivers too early. The shop owner wrote, "I've got my delivery schedule for good reason; I don't want stuff a month ahead of time!"
Crisafulli claims that a goal attained will perpetuate itself in succeeding years. "By and large, once you've got it up and running, it works pretty well on a continuing basis. It becomes part of what you do, part of your thought process." As proof, he notes that Marmot has met delivery goals each year since 1992.
"Shipping has been good, product quality has been excellent as usual, and there's more recognition of the product than ever before," observes Bob Wade, owner of the Ute Mountaineer, in Aspen, Colo., and a Marmot dealer for 20 years. "Overall, it's definitely a healthier situation."
Industry observers are impressed with Marmot's turnaround but add that the company benefited from unusual circumstances. Marmot, because of its relatively small size, was the first of Odyssey's outdoor companies to emerge from Chapter 11. Arch rivals the North Face and Sierra Designs languished in bankruptcy limbo for a year, during which time Marmot pounced on their market share. Says former Odyssey executive Peter Benjamin, Marmot "had the right set of circumstances and played it well. They've thrown the dice and won. Whether they can sustain it is a question."
Crisafulli believes that Marmot's future is ensured. "If our charge is to be the best company -- defined in the past as supplying the best product -- we are now trying to be the best at everything. We should have the best service, advertising, promotion, delivery, and new products." He's convinced of both the simplicity and the effectiveness of his "prioritizing to a fault" strategy. "It hasn't failed to work yet. That's the beauty of the system: if you focus on only one thing, it's not difficult to achieve. It's much easier than trying to meet 20 different goals. I think that if everyone in a small business concentrates on one thing, it will happen."
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David Goodman is a freelance writer who lives in Waterbury Center, Vt.
MARMOT'S ASCENT
2/95 Marmot sets new goal: improved service. Begins upgrading computer systems, installs 800 number, and fine-tunes delivery schedule.
Fall/94 Goal achieved: a half dozen creative ads for Marmot begin running in national magazines.
2/94 Marmot sets new goal: marketing and brand development by end of year.
Spring and Fall/94 Goal achieved: Marmot releases line of more than a dozen new sleeping bags, introduces new waterproof breathable fabric.
7/93 Marmot Mountain Ltd. -- Marmot management, sales reps, retailers, and investors -- acquires assets of Marmot Mountain International from Odyssey.
Spring/93 Goal achieved: Marmot has delivered on time for three consecutive seasons. New-accounts moratorium lifted.
2/93 Marmot sets 1994 goal: new-product development.
1/93 Odyssey International files for Chapter 11 protection.
9/92 Goal achieved: Marmot ships winter 1992 products two weeks ahead of schedule.
Fall/91 Marmot sets new goal: September 1992 set as the date for on-time delivery of products for winter 1992. New-accounts moratorium imposed.
4/1/91 Odyssey International acquires Marmot and makes Steve Crisafulli president.
