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Finance And Operations Of A Mid Sized Company Serving Retail Customers

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One of the rewarding aspects of working as the senior executive in charge of finance and operations of a mid-sized company serving retail customers was that I was able to wear many hats. By working directly with all departments, I gained a thorough understanding and deep appreciation of every aspect of the business, including new product development, vendor and customer relations, marketing, and customer service. In addition, as a lean and agile management team, we were not constrained by multiple levels of bureaucracy. This allowed us to quickly identify, vet and implement bold initiatives in the retail food marketplace. Twenty plus years ago, the terms “private label” or “own brand” were usually synonymous with “cheap knock offs.” These products were viewed as inferior to the national brands and just a low cost alternative for the extremely price conscious. However, in the last 20 years, the paradigm has changed. As major retailers sought ways to expand their brand and entice customers to become loyal to their stores, private label (“PL”) and own brand (“OB”) products became a more viable and significant component of their marketing and brand strategy. However, this came with the caveat that their PL/OB offerings had to meet or exceed the quality of the national brands but at a price point of 10-20% less. The Company’s founder and I researched what it would take to get into the production of PL products in the ready-to-eat (“RTE”) kid’s meals market. We were

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