So, just to briefly recap from the previous post, the timeline was as follows:
Sep 2005 – we were officially informed by our Managing Director that Abus had decided after 40 years to end our sole supply agreement, and would now also supply 2 of our competitors. This had “come out of the blue” and was “completely the fault of Abus”.
Jan 2006 – our company launched Kasp as an alternative, in a public presentation our Chairman and Managing Director announced that our Marketing Department had done a “wonderful job” in putting this range together in only 3 months. Our task as sales people was to sell Kasp alongside Abus, tell the market place how badly we had been “shafted” by Abus and over time persuade retailers to switch from Abus to Kasp. Major TV advertising campaign throughout 2006 and 2007 for Kasp.
I even remember when our “esteemed” Chairman was giving his Powerpoint presentation – a man who would have been right at home with the “snouts in the trough” bankers and Westminster politicians. In amongst his “Children’s Bed Time Stories” presentation he produced a slide of a tank with the immortal words “We have decided to fight Abus for what they have done”.
Laughable looking back – how this despicable snake oil salesman managed to keep a straight face throughout all the lies I really don’t know. Anyway….this is what happened
- Nov 2006 – company dropped Abus completely to concentrate solely on Kasp
- 2006 and 2007 – sales of Kasp consistently below very modest sales targets, by and large not acceptable in the market
Unfortunately the company in the form of the Chairman and Managing Director told……a pack of lies.
Around the middle of 2007 I was able to piece together what really happened. It is an intriguing tale of corporate greed, arrogance and lies. Here we go:
2004 – our national turnover on Abus at this time was around $10m. About 10% of this turnover involved more specialist security products for the more specialist security retail outlets – around $1m of annual turnover. With a complete disregard to contractual obligations to sales agents, our MD approached Abus, and offered to “sell” this “specialist” part of our security business back to them.
So, what do you think would be a fair price to pay for $1m of turnover (NOT profit remember but turnover)? That is even putting to one side the other implications, such as “how committed are this company to selling our products when they are looking to get rid of the most prestigious part of that business”. By the way, I would estimate the gross profit on that business to be no more than $200,000 per annum.
So I ask again, how much do you think Abus were asked to pay to buy back $1m worth of turnover? $250,000? $400,000?
The answer dear reader is the sum of $4,000,000!!!
You won’t be surprised that Abus did not take our MD up on his kind offer. So at this time the idea of Kasp was born – around the middle of 2004. What proof do I have, I hear you ask?
On 11th July 2005, between the hours of 12.08pm and 12.14pm a total of 86 files were uploaded into 2 directories into the company’s internal FTP site. Every single one of those files, as part of the file name, contains a reference number for a Kasp product. Apart from 2 or 3 items this is the full range of Kasp launched to great fanfare 6 months later. The files are actually image files of the display cards to be used on Kasp products, even including the exact dimensions down to the last millimetre!
All this information was legitimately available to me and everyone else within the sales force, I did not “hack” into system to get this. It required a very minor amount of digging in a part of the FTP system open to me to find the directories. Such is the arrogance of this company they did not even think to “password protect” these files as they have other parts of the system. If they had done so I doubt I would have discovered the truth behind the deceit of the Kasp brand.
Don’t believe me? Then click the link below – I recorded all of it onto video. (You’ll have to wait to let it load, also turn up your speakers or better still use headphones. Unfortunately this was the first time I used that software so the audio quality isn’t the best!)
The Truth Behind The Kasp Security Lies
(link opens in a new window)
So, the question arises…………
- if our MD officially informed us that he had been told on 6th September 2005 by Abus that we were to lose our sole supplier status
- if the same MD stated that this news was a “shock” and “completely out of the blue”
- and if the Chairman and MD told us publicly that Kasp had been put together between September 2005 and January 2006
…….then why the hell were 86 files on the computer system complete with correct product codes, complete with image files and complete with dimensions 6 MONTHS before this range officially existed??!!!!
The answer my friend is that this previously well-respected, long-established (over 200 years), honourable family business publicly and openly and in a premeditated and pre-planned manner told its staff, its sales agents, its customers and its suppliers…
………a complete pack of lies.
More tomorrow…