Difficult Decisions for Liguorian Magazine

Hello:

When I first joined Liguori Publications seven and half years ago, we had about 150 employees. If you didn't make it in early you couldn't find a parking space and we were frequently talking about the best way to expand our warehouse. Liguorian Magazine, the flagship of Liguori and a veritable cash cow, was just beginning to fall from an all time high of 500,000+ subscriptions. Flash forward to today. Through three rounds of layoffs and attrition, we are now fewer than 100. Liguorian subscriptions are less than 300,000 and needless to say, parking isn't a problem. Even so, the warehouse is tighter than ever.

Liguori is one of those places where it isn't uncommon for someone to work 40 years or more. The salaries aren't the highest in the metro region but the benefits are extremely good and there is a real sense of family that I've never experienced anywhere else. Many of the employees work at Liguori as an expression of their Catholic spirituality. Not being Catholic myself, I don't experience that particular reward - but it is refreshing to see it in your co-workers.

Obviously, layoffs were not something we chose to do lightly. Most importantly, they were not just cost saving maneuvers. In each case the functions we shed and the resulting reorganizations made us a stronger and more viable company. Unfortunately, the efficiencies we gained were almost always offset by further weakness in our market niche.

• Secular publishers began to venture into spiritual publishing using their economies of scale and established channels to draw the best authors and get shelf space in more bookstores.
• The terrorist attacks on September 11th sent the economy into a tail spin.
• The sexual scandals within the Church left parishes with diminishing donations and large settlement payouts.
• The declining number of clergy transitioned buying decisions into the hands of lay volunteers who did not have the same familiarity with our product lines.
• In the past Redemptorists would fill in for vacationing and sick pastors throughout the US. After Mass they would distribute subscription cards. As the number of Redemptorists declines so do the number of "preached" subs.

Just recently we made the decision to outsource the fulfillment (that's the order taking and shipping) of the Liguorian Magazine to Palm Coast Data in Florida. They have a tremendous operation with several hundred employees and several million dollars worth of equipment allowing them to administer the magazine significantly cheaper, faster and better than we can. It was a tough call that resulted in the loss of 3 jobs here at the publishing house, but it was the right thing to do. As a result, we have been able to shift resources (corporate speak for people) to focusing on growing the magazine again.

Just in time for Christmas gift giving, we have markedly improved the process for giving Liguorian gift subscriptions on-line. In the past you had to complete a separate check out for each subscription. Last November one gentleman, obviously destined for Sainthood, completed 17 checkouts! We also now allow "Bill Me" orders to be placed on-line. In the next month we plan on rolling out enhanced customer service features; address change, account review, replacement issues, etc.

If you're curious, you can read a sample article by clicking on any of the images (all images take you to the same article). You can also go directly to the commerce site. I'm most excited that you can read this unpaid testimonial from Faira. Ok, ok I sent her a free cookbook and a magazine - but I didn't ask her to write the review!

• Faira said...
  Oh, and Philip, You sent along with my cook book a publication of Liguorian. It also was great reading and a publication to be proud of. I read it from cover to cover. I really liked the comparison stories of gardens and Spiritual living. And the memoriam of John Paul II 1920-2005 was very well done, it helped me see the Man behind the Pope (does that make sense?). Thank you for sending it to me, I enjoyed it very much!

Well, I think that's enough of this somber discussion. I hope you don't mind the change in tempo, but it's been on my mind a lot lately. Among other things, I think I feel some survivor's guilt. We're positioned for a better future but things certainly aren't guaranteed. I try my best to benefit the company in any way that I can, I feel I owe it to this weird little family of mine.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass