Gliebers Dresses: Didn't Expect This E-Mail

From: Roger Morgan [mailto:roger.morgan@gliebersdresses.com]

Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 6:03 AM

To: Kevin Hillstrom

Subject: Robotics

Kevin:

We haven't chatted in a long time, so I thought I would reach out to you. I hope you are doing well.

I understand that you have been working with a company on the west coast that is making good use of robotics in the distribution center. Would you be willing to share with me what this company is doing, how they are doing it, what it costs, and what they perceive the competitive advantages are of their robotics system? Our budgets are tight, so we're not going to pay you anything for this, we just thought maybe you'd be willing to spend a half-day or so jotting down your thoughts, you know, something that doesn't take too much time. Thanks in advance for your help, we appreciate it.

You might have heard that Brandon Templeton is out as CEO of Gliebers Dresses. This certainly isn't a surprise, I mean, this guy violated just about every best practice in the book in his quest to, as he would say, "modernize marketing". Woodside Research recently published a report that suggests that, by 2013, customers will hold up to six mobile devices at one time while leveraging offline marketing and e-mail marketing to make purchase decisions, requiring marketers to be nimble, sophisticated, and savvy at using multiple channels in a synergistic manner. Clearly, Mr. Templeton didn't read the research report, or he wouldn't have decided to obliterate our catalog marketing program in a short-sighted attempt to demonstrate the viability of emerging channels.

I am hoping that you might be able to assist me. Fitz Gleason, the gentleman who owns Gleason Investments, our parent company, is actively searching for our next Chief Executive Officer. As you already know, it sometimes takes a long time to find a viable Chief Executive Officer ... Woodside Research states that the average time it takes for a company to find a CEO is about eight months. I would like the opportunity to showcase my talents to Management. I would like to become the Interim CEO, and with luck, I could demonstrate that I deserve to be the permanent CEO of Gliebers Dresses.

You are already familiar with my strong strategic mindset. Nobody is going to come to the table better prepared than I am. I challenge any operations leader to match my knowledge of multi-channel marketing. You know as well as I do that it is critical to subscribe to and purchase the papers issued by all of the leading research organizations. Though I haven't been given the opportunity to run a marketing program, I possess a thorough knowledge of all multi-channel marketing best practices. Heck, I know why it is important to optimize the number of pixels in an e-mail pre-header. I've read Seth Godin, so I know how the lizard brain fights against making strategic changes to a marketing organization.

Outsiders might suggest that I don't have the merchandising experience necessary to grow a business like Gliebers Dresses, but I disagree with that point of view. Neptune Research suggests that merchandisers that will win in the future source product in a nimble and rapid manner, responding to customer demand in real time. I believe I can move our organization in this direction in a frictionless manner.

Anyway, I am hoping that you would be willing to call Fitz Gleason and put in a good word on my behalf. I know that you are respected in the industry, so I am confident that your thoughts would go a long way toward helping advance my career objectives.

Let me know when you have had a chance to speak with Mr. Gleason. I am heading to Lake Winnipesaukee for the weekend, I will be available next week if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Roger Morgan