Business Insight Zone

Welcome to the March edition of the Hoover’s Index. The Hoover’s Index provides insight on which companies are being watched most closely by the sales, marketing, and business development professionals who make up a large portion of Hoover’s customers. Each month, I offer commentary on some of the most interesting stories and trends turned up by the unique ranking system of the Hoover’s Index.

1	Saturn	542
2	Taco Bell	470
3	Express	418
4	Bath & Body Works	415
5	KFC	407
6	Genesco	397
7	Reed Elsevier PLC	388
8	Gatorade	386
9	Dick’s Sporting Goods	382
10	Sharper Image	363

Saturn
The Saturn make was born with the promise of being “A Different Kind of Car Company.” For a while, that seemed to be the real message of the Tennessee-based unit of GM. These days, though, the original message of labor harmony and low-key sales tactics has been diluted, both because GM has changed the way it brands and makes Saturns, and because GM (along with the rest of the U.S. car industry) has faced so many other very public problems. These days, Saturn is trying to win the attention of U.S. consumers with hybrid-engine versions of its Vue and Aura models — but only in limited areas and with limited availability.

Genesco
Genesco’s venerable Johnston & Murphy brand may have shod every U.S. president since Millard Fillmore, but the company’s recent struggle with Finish Line has hardly been statesmanlike. In 2007, Finish Line agreed to pay about $1.5 billion for Genesco — but that was before Genesco turned in disappointing financial results. In an increasingly complicated tangle of legal maneuvers, Finish Line rescinded its offer, Genesco successfully sued to force Finish Line to complete the takeover, and then Finish Line’s investment banker UBS sued Finish Line to avoid fulfilling its obligation to fund the highly-leveraged deal. Under the terms of the settlement agreement reached this month, Finish Line will pay Genesco $175 million in cash and issue 12% of its common stock to Genesco.

Sharper Image
Starting in the 1980s, the monthly catalogs of The Sharper Image became the modern equivalent of the old “wish book” catalogs of Sears — at least for gadget-loving consumers. In recent years, though, the product mix and retail strategy of Sharper Image have lost a lot of appeal with consumers, who seem to be tired of the massage chairs, radio-controlled cars, air purifiers, and other electrical gizmos that have been the company’s stock in trade. The latest, harshest evidence of the company’s slide is its recent entry into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The new Sharper Image CEO, turnaround specialist Robert Conway, has promised to stem the damage.

Category: Hoover's