Turnarounds Can Be Volatile

When you deal with the volatility inherent to business restructurings and turnarounds, Mike Berman professes, “Only a fool thinks he will win every time.” And in the case of Mike’s work with Merisel, the challenge of working in an industry in decline—namely, the commercial print industry, which has lost more jobs and more companies per capita than any other industry in the past 30 years—proved too tempting for him to pass it up.

Merisel, a publicly-traded roll-up of several formerly privately-held companies, had struggled through 8 years of existence, turning a profit only one year since its inception. By 2009, the company looked terminal. That year it posted losses greater than revenues through severe double-digit declines in its topline; and to make matters worse, the private equity company that initially rolled-up Merisel ran a closed fund and had to be out within a year.

Enter Mike, who joined Merisel as a consultant from October 2009 to January 2010 and then served as its Executive Vice President and Chief Client Officer from January 2010 through August 2012. At Merisel, Mike led the effort to rebrand the company as a full-service production agency. The company expanded into graphic arts, digital media, and digital signage, plus institutionalized client management, restructured the organization and its strategic plan, and created a sports-entertainment vertical offering.

As a result, Merisel emerged in 2010 as a leading supplier of visual communications and brand imaging solutions in the United States. That year, the first full year under Mike’s leadership, the company enjoyed 15.9% year-on-year revenue growth and strong operating income of $1.5 million. Anything short of that level of success would have meant financial ruin for the company and all of its stakeholders.

In 2011, Merisel was named the American Business Awards “Business Turnaround of the Year," which recognized the company’s ability to adapt, grow, and maintain its commitment to delivering solid results despite prevailing economic turbulence. Mike was named an American Business Awards finalist in three categories in 2011, and in two categories in 2012.

In fact, for 18 months, January 2010 thru July 2011, Merisel experienced consistent double digit growth and profitability, but much to Mike’s disappointment, those initial results have not been sustained as of late.

While Mike may not have achieved all that he set out to achieve at Merisel, he remains proud of the work he did there and feels that overall the company is better positioned for the long-term.

“Sometimes, it’s from our setbacks that we learn the most,” he explains, “From them, we come back hungrier than ever to achieve success.”