Chad T. Vincent

Background

Fiskars is a $1B Finnish company, most often known for their iconic 'orange handled scissors'.  In the US, the major divisions were Gerber Outdoor (Portland, OR), Garden and Outdoor Living (Sauk, WI) and the School, Office & Craft (Wausau/Madison, WI).  While running the Gerber business, the leaders of all the divisions would meet regularly to share updates in the states and in Europe.

The SOC division was a significant profit driver for the corporation. And revenue and profits were increasingly coming under pressure.  Competitors were entering with low cost, nice looking, but barely functional products.  The Gerber Outdoor business I was running at this point was solidified, growing, very profitable and had a strong management team in place.  I was asked to relocate to become the President of the SOC division, so we packed up and headed to Wisconsin.

The SOC division made things other than scissors, but scissors paid the bills.  We made the finest scissors in the world.  Expertly engineered, the blades were precision ground for optimal effortless cutting throughout the entire squeeze of the handles.  The kids scissors were ground to a lesser angle for safety, but were produced to the same level of expertise.  For quilters and sewers, these products were the best and not optional.  And not cheap.

Competitive Issues, hard choices 

Competitors in the scissor category were strong and getting stronger.  Our margins and revenue remained under pressure as competitors brought in good looking, adequately performing products.    Our products were far superior, but outside of the sewing and quilting mavens, they were over engineered and not competitive.  We needed to change the game, which started off with saving the company. It came to a point where we had 2 options.  I made the difficult choice of closing the US plant.  I wish to this day that we could have kept it open.  But to do so would have likely meant the demise of Fiskars and all the non manufacturing jobs in the US.

We started an aggressive growth plan and a reinvigorated new product process, and began sourcing more aptly engineered products to deliver the benefits based on user needs.  And we started the Fiskateer Program.

Enthusiasts... for scissors?

The Fiskars success story is rooted in Enthusiasts, Influencers and product developers.  We got together as a group to discuss our options.  Our strengths, and weaknesses.  Followed by a lot of time with our core consumers.  In their homes, in stores, a lot of time in craft shops Michaels and especially JoAnns.  Watching, listening, learning, asking questions.  They loved us.  They absolutely loved their Fiskars scissors, cutters, etc.  They loved the design, the feel and the performance.  But most importantly, they loved us.  We spent time with quilters, and they began to discuss the problems they faced, and inadequacies of competitive sewing items.  We did the same for Scrapbookers.  And Stampers. And Florists.  We aggressively began to develop a broad based new product development team and Enthusiast network to develop and quickly bring to market these new products.  Our % of sales from new products jumped from 10% to north of 30%!  The revenue and margins magically rose...

What's a Fiskateer?

We got to know these craft-driven folks pretty well.  There were many reasons they were so into their craft.  Self Expression (Sewing to me is like breathing, only much more important), Acceptance and Self Validation (the way my family/husband/friends look at me when they see what I made - I cannot come close to expressing how wonderful that makes me feel), And Friendship and Sharing - theyloved their time together, talking, assisting each other, and their sense of community. 

At this point in time, the internet was just coming into play.  No Facebook, not Pinterest, but websites and chat boards were blossoming.  With our waves of new products, we had introduced a number of fairly complex tools.  And some users were getting frustrated.  Our customer service group was getting some calls, but nothing out of the ordinary.  I received a call from a craft and tech savvy pal... 'do you know what's going on out there' he asked?  Where... 'on line.  You have people complaining about your products, but the amazing thing is that non-Fiskars people are defending you, and teaching folks how to use the new items'! 

So we began actively monitoring the sites, and amazingly, we had crafters and sewers actively helping solve problems for other like minded folks on line.  We began reaching out to some of the helpers, and began providing them with training.  And testing new products with them during development.  The results were astonishing.  During a conversation, a few of them lamented that they just wish there was a place where the community could come together, to virtually hang our, and share work, ideas and problems.  In short order, we created the Fiskateers site.  The program evolved to us signing up crafters to help others on our behalf (a few super Fiskateers came on as paid part timers).  We thought we'd get a few... and in the first month had over 500 join.

The craft stores noticed.  We began training Fiskateer Ladies (and a few men) on our products, and connecting them with craft stores where they would get paid to come in and do demonstrations.  We invited the top 50 for a weekend of training and fun in San Antonio.  These ladies were amazing, and they loved all things Fiskars.  They became our face to the community, and heavily influenced the industry.

learning

Enthusiasts exist in every category, and are hungry for learning, sharing, and being part of your brand.  Enthusiasts are also often Influencers... knowing them, and having them know you can be a powerful communication advantage. 

Decisions need to be made.  The decision to keep or close the plant went on for 4 years before I was asked to run the division.  Uncertainty and lack of clarity hurts everyone, and makes work not such a fun place to spend a large portion of your day. Good people will find other places with firmer ground. The best leaders gather the best information they can find, get input from the team, and decide.  The decision unlocked the potential of the company, and from it flowed hundreds of new products and business streams.  Pull the band aid off quickly.  Decide and move on for the sake of all.

Side note... the images on the right side of the page are from 'journals' we sent out to Enthusiasts.  We sent out journal books with small prompts, and these talented folks sent us back incredible works of art.  We used as print ads, and posted on the Fiskateer community site.