Preparing for Takeoff

Probably best-known for the late night/early morning infomercials containing celebrities gushing about the radiance of their skin, President Leslie Blodgett, who joined the company in 1996, has taken Bare Escentuals all the way to Wall Street. The company filed a preliminary registration statement with the SEC in June for an IPO. The company's makeup line, made from pure minerals and no additives, was unique until recently when other companies in this space started to present similar products. But trying to catch up to Bare Escentuals may prove to be difficult. The company has 30 boutiques in the United States, distributes through nearly 300 other retailers, 900 spas and salons, and QVC. The company started in 1976 with just one retail store. Expanding from makeup into skin care, a few years ago, the company partnered with md formulations to offer its products as well.

Growth Takeoff: According to Hoover's, Bare Escentuals experienced a one-year sales growth of 82.9 percent in 2005, with fiscal year-end sales reaching $259.3 million.

Helen Of Troy Ltd.

With a name like "Helen of Troy," a company might have a lot to live up to, and this company has -- with 2005 being the fifth consecutive year of record sales and earnings. In a letter to shareholders, Gerald J. Rubin, chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president, announced a new sales goal of $1 billion, to be reached by 2010. The company says growth is made possible by the "world respected names" such as, Hot Tools, Revlon, Vidal Sassoon, Shiseido and Brut, under which it designs, produces and markets personal care items. OXO International was acquired in 2004, and offered nearly 500 products. For effective distribution the company utilizes "state-of-the-art logistics and information systems." According to the company, these technologies increase productivity, reduce costs, boost on-time delivery rates, hasten response times and manage inventories more effectively. These efficiencies make them a sought-after partner by retailers.

Growth Takeoff: At a recent tradeshow, Helen of Troy Ltd. introduced 110 new products.

Airborne Inc.

Using herself as a guinea pig, elementary school teacher Victoria Knight-McDowell spent most of the 1990s stirring up herbal concoctions and then swallowing them with fingers crossed -- all in an effort to avoid the common colds she would inevitably catch from her students. Finally, after five years of development, and spending $300,000 in personal savings, she came up with the perfect potion. Knight-McDowell and a team of health professionals put seven herbs (each with a specific function in Eastern medicine) through a patented extraction process and then combined them with a unique formulation of amino acids, antioxidants and electrolytes to create the now household name, Airborne. After starting out in a small town pharmacy, Airborne can be found in just about any large, nationwide chain, including Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, Eckerd, Jewel-Osco and many more. In fact, Airborne has become one of the fastest selling health products in retail history -- largely by word of mouth -- and expanded its product portfolio to include Airborne Jr. and Sore Throat Gummies for kids. Growth Takeoff: During the first year Knight-McDowell made about $25,000 -- the same as her teaching salary. Now the company's sales are in the double-digit millions.

Stirrings

From working in bars during college Bill Creelman and Gil MacLean found "pleasure and value in serving friends beverages in a fun atmosphere." This would prove to be an inspiration for the birth of Stirrings. The first products were called "rimmers," reminiscent of the salt rim usually served with a margarita. The Stirrings rimmer was a twist on this, incorporating mint, cilantro, lime and sea salt. Creelman and MacLean had already started another company, which had also evolved from college days. A theoretical business plan written by Creelman during the last year of college gave way to the Nantucket Harvest Company, which offers a wide variety of grill rubs. Notably, the common element here involves social activities like drinking and eating. According to the company: "We believe that great food and drinks, enjoyed with friends, is an absolute. It cannot be challenged. It is one of the few combinations that will always make you happy, give you pleasure, and give you pause for reflection." Stirrings now offers 15 different rimmers, 10 cocktail mixes, cocktail essences, cocktail sodas and other bar ingredients. New products on the way include mixer sodas like tonic, club and ginger ale. The company also has recently partnered with Delta Airlines to concoct the "Mile High Mojito," to be served exclusively on Delta flights.

Growth takeoff: Hoover's reports that Stirrings experienced a one-year sales growth of 125 percent.

Iconix Brands Inc.

Bongo, Candies, Joe Boxer, Rampage and Mudd all fall under the Iconix Brands umbrella and are the names responsible for driving record revenues at the company. In the first quarter of 2006, revenue was approximately $13.3 million compared to approximately $4.3 million in the first quarter last year. Iconix operates on what is quickly becoming a new model in the apparel industry. The company describes itself as having "ownership of world-class consumer brands unencumbered by cost, complexity and risk of an operating business." Focusing on strengthening and selling its brands is its core for growth. The company has a "Three Pillars To Grow Strategy" that consists of "organic growth from existing brands, growth from acquiring brands and international distribution." Some of the "organic growth" comes from the unique marketing campaigns for which the company is known. The 2006 acquisition of MUDD, expanding the company's portfolio with 2007 licensing revenues projected to be $18 million to $20 million, presents one of these uncommon ad concepts. The July campaign for MUDD was entitled "Mudd Girls Move the World," and features real girls with aspirations toward and passion about improving their communities.

Growth Takeoff: Iconix criteria for acquisitions includes that the ROI includes a "free cash flow that can pay back the purchase price within approximately five years."

Wise Foods

Born from an overstock of potatoes, grocer Earl Wise, Sr. never really intended to go into the snack business. He was simply trying to be a frugal business man. Now the company makes chips and other salty snacks, commanding a top share of the market in 21 East Coast states. Until recently, it relied on the same scheduling process employed when founded in 1921 -- a pen-and-paper method, based in a spiral notebook. Wise had an ERP system in place, but without an automated scheduling solution, it was still dealing with inventory issues affecting quality and bottom line. Wise chose the One Plan Factory Scheduler from CDC Software's Ross ERP, a graphical production scheduling system that enables on-time product delivery at the lowest cost. In creating a single, automated system, the contents of "the book" are now readily available to everyone -- from plant floor managers to the executives in corporate.

At a glance, Wise can instantly understand whether the factory can meet the specific demand for each say. Because it knows this forecast well in advance, Wise also improved its ability to schedule labor and factory operations.

Technology Takeoff: One month results from using CDC Software's Ross ERP: reduction of inventory by 40,000 cases; 99.6 percent service-to-sales level; reduction of short shipments from thousands of cases per day to a handful.

Rc2 Corporation

Racing Champions Corporation, producer and marketer of racing die-cast replicas and marketer of NASCAR products, in 1999, acquired The Ertl Company Inc., marketer of farm toys, model kits and die-cast collectibles. In 2003, the company acquired Learning Curve International Inc., and changed its name RC2 Corporation. The company states that it is "committed to be first to market with innovative toy, collectible, hobby and infant products that are fun to own and use." Judging by its brands and licenses, which include John Deere, Bob The Builder, Thomas & Friends Railway System and American Chopper/Orange County Choppers, it is keeping with this philosophy. In 2005, net sales increased by 32 percent to $504.4 million. Curt Stoelting, chief executive officer, said, "We accomplished our three key objectives for 2005 -- completing the integration of our 2004 acquisitions, launching our Bob The Builder product line and achieving pro forma organic sales growth in our key channels of distribution...Most importantly, we positioned RC2 for continued growth in 2006 and beyond." Growth Takeoff: According to the company, "RC2's mission is to offer consumers a lifecycle of consistently high-quality products, beginning with early development, growing into engaging play, and continuing beyond childhood to support their imaginations and passions throughout the years."

Organic Valley

The demand for organic foods is escalating to the point where product availability might become an issue, but Organic Valley is staying a few steps ahead of the game. It is currently growing 25 percent to 35 percent annually and is slated to grow by about 50 percent next year according to Tripp Hughes director of marketing & sales - analysis & planning. This was not always the case. In 2004, the company realized it overspent on trade fund expenses, experienced out-of-stocks and turned customers away due to lack of supply. The decentralized nature of the volume and trade planning system was to blame and this led to an "integrated sales management initiative (ISM)." The company needed an IT solution to manage complexities and integrations, and now utilizes Demantra's promotion modeling optimization, S&OP, settlement and deduction management suite. The solution allows all the key teams to work together by seeing the same information. Resulting analysis enables improved forecasting, leading to satisfying customer demand.

Technology Takeoff: To succeed as an SMB, Hughes says you have to stay with your vision -- stick with what you are good at and focus on it. Having the right technical partner and solution makes this focus possible.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

Mid-market player Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is growing despite tough competition from market behemoths Procter & Gamble (the Folgers brand owner) and Starbucks. In 2005, sales reached $161.5 million, a 17.5 percent up tick over the previous year. Green Mountain is pinning future growth hopes to the trend of "single-cup" brewers.  In May 2006, it acquired the remaining 65 percent of Keurig -- a single-cup brewing-system manufacturer -- for $104 million. In order to focus much of its energy and efforts on delivering great coffee to its customers, the company strives to keep business and technology on the same page.

Currently, the company counts on Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise products to provide a real-time, one-path solution to manage and solve data management issues. Benefits include increased order accuracy to more than 98 percent and reduced time (less than 24 hours) between order entry and delivery.

Growth Takeoff: Green Mountain Coffee Roaster's major wholesale customers include the American Skiing Company alpine resorts, Amtrak, ARAMARK, ExxonMobil convenience stores, Fred Meyer Stores, Hannaford Bros. Supermarkets, Kash N' Karry Food Stores, Kings Super Markets, Nestle Waters of North America, Price Chopper, Shaws Supermarkets, Sodexho and Wild Oats.

Ron Jon

Ron DiMenna was passionate about surfing back in 1961 at the Jersey Shore and made his own boards. When that wasn't good enough he looked to California for a custom board and following a suggestion from his dad -- he bought three and sold two to pay for his own board. That turned into a small storefront, which has evolved into the Ron Jon of today: six retail stores nationwide (the Cocoa Beach location gets two million visitors a year and is open 24 hours, seven days a week), several airport locations, a storefront in Mexico, a resort and many other business ventures, including sponsorships of some of the world's leading surf competitions and surfers. Opening in early 2007 is the Ron Jon Surfpark at Festival Bay.

The indoor/outdoor facility will have three wave pools developed for surfers with all levels of experience. There's also a special boogie boarding pool for those not quite ready to surf. With the scope of operations so far reaching, the company needed to consolidate warehouse management, e-commerce, inventory and pricing processes for improved operational control and enhanced business decision-making.

Now using the SAP Business One application, Ron Jon aims to refine their tracking and reporting of inventory while streamlining the product cycle from the warehouse to the point-of-sale.

Technology Takeoff: Ron Jon further plans to refine internal reporting, using SAP's analytics and reporting capabilities to better manage purchasing and merchandise pricing levels.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc.

Given the fact that vacationers tend to leave their diets at home, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. strategically places its company-owned and franchise stores in tourist areas, factory outlet malls and regional malls. The company manufacturers an extensive line of premium chocolates and other confectionary products sold in store, online and through fundraising programs. In fiscal 2006, the company opened doors to 38 more stores and reported sales of $28.1 million, up 14.7 percent from the previous year.

Almost 70 percent of Rocky Mountain Chocolate's sales come from its premium chocolates and confections; the remainder comes from franchise fees. The total number of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory locations in operation equals 308 as of February 28, 2006, which ensures a little healthy competition for rivals like Godiva and Russell Stover. Another 40 to 45 new stores are expected to open in the current fiscal year, when the company anticipates earnings growth of 17 percent to 22 percent.

Growth Takeoff: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory ranks No. 46 out of 100 on Fortune Small Business Magazine's list of "America's 100 Fastest-Growing Small Public Companies."

Leapfrog Enterprises

Starting with only two products in 1995, LeapFrog Enterprise's line has grown substantially to include more than 100 interactive learning toys and books covering subjects ranging from math to music. Although it faced rocky waters in 2004 when founder Michael Wood resigned, and LeapFrog let go of 10 percent of its workforce due to slumped sales, LeapFrog has undoubtedly carved out a niche in the toy market with its interactive learning toys for spelling, reading and phonics. Today, LeapFrog is back on the growth track with sales of $649.8 million in 2005 and enlists the help of retailers and others to keep its sales hopping. Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart and Target account for about 80 percent of LeapPad's sales. Recently, LeapFrog's successes are embodied in its recent product breakthroughs, including the FLY Pentop Computer (pictured here), the Leapster line of preschool-age learning tools and its suite of classroom learning solutions.

Growth Takeoff: In February 2006, at the sixth annual Toy of the Year (T.O.T.Y.) Awards in conjunction with the Toy Industry Association's American International Toy Fair, LeapFrog's FLY Pentop Computer was selected as the best Toy of the Year, the Most Innovative Toy of the Year and the best Educational Toy of the Year.

Charles Komar

In-house production requires a series of steps and processes for apparel companies like Charles Komar, a privately-held intimate apparel company that markets and distributes women's sleepwear, loungewear and lingerie, and with a recent acquisition, children's sleepwear. Brands include: Liz Claiborne, Vera Wang and August Silk. Komar has a global sourcing network with factories in 14 countries and needs to control and synchronize a series of steps. Komar uses the TradeCard global trade platform as its information hub. This on-demand technology helps Komar effectively communicate workflow messages across the entire supply chain -- not just with internal employees and direct suppliers -- ensuring control and connectivity of the extended supply chain.

As a result, Komar has visibility of transactions from purchase order to payment and chargeback. Traditional trade portals provide a one-to-one interaction with suppliers, but Komar interacts with 15 to 20 vendors in the same transaction within its sourcing operations. The TradeCard platform allows Komar to coordinate and communicate with many different parties at once. Because this global trade platform is scalable and grows with its business, the solution enables Komar to grow without further IT investment. It doesn't have to build an IT staff overseas; preferring to stick to a core competency, it makes the IT part as simple as possible.

Technology Takeoff: Due to the improved visibility and compliance checking provided by the TradeCard platform, Komar has a higher percentage of compliant shipments, resulting in fewer charge-backs and more accurate customer service.

Chattem Inc.

History was made in 1991 at Chattem Inc. when revenues exceeded $100 million for the first time at the company. From its humble beginnings in a small house, on a dirt road in 1879 as the Chattanooga Medicine Company and its first product, "Black Draught," a senna based laxative, to the introduction of Pamprin in 1962 and the most recently ICY HOT Back Patch and Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Skin Therapy Lotion, Chattem has grown steadily and become known as a leader in the over-the-counter healthcare product space. For the first six months of fiscal 2006, total revenues were $163.4 million compared to total revenues of $147.2 million in the prior year -- an 11 percent increase.

According to a second quarter release, chief drivers include the continued strength of the Gold Bond franchise, up 11 percent (the Gold Bond lotion part of the business had a sales increase of 46 percent), and the BullFrog franchise, up 25 percent. One new product under this heading is BullFrog Mosquito Coast, a unique combination of a sunscreen and insect repellent. New product launches and strategic brand acquisition have propelled Chattem throughout the existence of the company.

Growth Takeoff: Continuing through 2006, Chattem says it has the most exciting new product opportunities in its history.

Guess?

From the very beginning, Guess? proved to be an innovator, and this has proven to be a growth driver for the company. Back in 1981 when the company was started by the Marciano brothers, there was nothing like it on the market. Denim was casual and functional, but barely considered fashion. Only two dozen pairs were stocked at Bloomingdale's, where the product launched, and now GUESS? offers a full range of apparel and accessories. Total net revenue for 2005 increased 28.4 percent to $936.1 million from $729.3 million in 2004.

Globalizing the brand was a primary goal in 2005 according to Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paul Marciano and the success of the strategy was reflected in the record fourth quarter earnings in 2005. In a recent interview with Apparel magazine, he cites the strength of GUESS? as the people, products and partners. The licensees and distributors serve as an integral resource for developing and maintaining its position. With combined resources and skills, GUESS? can diversify the brand with creativity and innovation, he says.

Growth Takeoff: Most recently, GUESS? launched its new freestanding GUESS? Accessory stores, with the first opening its doors in 2004. Since then, two more stores launched domestically and nine internationally, with more in the works.

Goya Foods

From a storefront family-owned business to halls of The Smithsonian, Goya Foods is now the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States. It is also the only Hispanic-owned company represented in the National Museum of American History Archive, and stands along iconic companies such as Kraft and Campbell Soup. Market research last year named Goya the most recognized brand in Puerto Rico, and indicated that Goya consumers associate the name with high quality. Started as a distributor of a few specialty products from Spain, Goya Foods is still family-owned and this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the company. These are not the only "milestones" the company has reached this year. Goya now offers the most products in its history -- more than 1,500, and the company intends to keep developing products to "encompass the full range of Hispanic tastes and preferences."

Additionally, Goya has expanded this year is through e-commerce. "Goya EStore" launched in February offering 400 Goya products, with plans to gradually increase selections. On top of all this, the company is going through the largest creation and expansion of facilities too, keeping up with the rapidly expanding Hispanic market.

Growth Takeoff: A 220,000-square-foot manufacturing facility opened recently in the Dominican Republic and a 138,000-square-foot facility in Houston, Texas. The largest Goya investment to date is the development of a 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Puerto Rico.

High Liner Foods Inc.

High Liner Foods Incorporated is a processor and marketer of seafood and frozen pasta products under brands such as High Liner, Fisher Boy, Gina Italian Village and Floresta brands. Customers are most major retail chain stores in North America and restaurants and institutions for food service. The company says Fisher Boy is marketed in 24 percent of U.S. grocery locations, and is the No. 1 brand of fish sticks in the Southwest and in Wal-Mart. The Gina Italian Village brand has the No. 2 market position for Italian style frozen pasta. Overall sales are up 11 percent in the first quarter of 2006.

The company cites four factors as keys to growth including enhancing brands, innovation, acquisition and reduction of costs to improve margins. To this point, it utilizes Next Generation Logistics's (NGL) freight management services and have also implemented its TMS software to include their Canadian Division. High Liner was able to greatly increase service levels, especially at peak times, while lowering freight and transportation costs. This TMS software also provides access to information it didn't have prior, enabling High Liner to make more informed strategic decisions.

Technology Takeoff: NGL's FreightMaster TMS gives High Liner Foods greater visibility into its freight costs and allows it to identify areas of improvement down to the SKU level.

Monterey Mushrooms

Monterey Mushrooms Inc. is the largest grower/shipper and marketer of fresh mushrooms in the United States. Established in 1971 as a single-farm operation, it has expanded to a global, multi-facility company. International operations include a spawn production plant in France; supply sales offices in France, the U.K., the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Spain and Canada; and a mushroom growing operation and processing facility in Mexico. The company utilizes SPSS' business intelligence software at facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Areas of the business affected include sales reporting, payroll balancing, freight distribution, HR and asset management/general ledger reporting. The company says that because of SPSS, it is able to see data as never before.This allows for improved analysis of the margin of profitability, allowing the company to make better business decisions.

Technology Takeoff: Before SPSS was implemented, it could take from four to 24 hours to develop reports using traditional tools; the most complex report took from two days to two weeks to complete. Now, even the most complicated queries are developed in less than two hours and the average report is finished in 10 to 15 minutes.