As vice president of business at Premier Logistics of Newington, Robin Sauve saw the writing on the wall. The end was near but there was an opportunity.
Although the company did $13 million in business in 2008 and $8 million in 2009, its finances were a mess. The bank swooped in and seized the company’s assets in May, leaving Sauve and 30 co-workers without a job.
“In an effort to save myself, the other employees, and my husband, who also worked at Premier, I approached the bank and put pennies on the dollar to purchase the assets,” Sauve said. “They were surprisingly willing to accept it.”
The deal happened quickly. Sauve said the bank seized the nearly 10-year-old company’s assets — including its computer system, client list and other equipment — in the last week of May, and she had them in her hands the first week of June.
She said while there were missteps with the financial management, it seemed foolish not to try to keep the business alive.
“There was an enormous book of business, and it was very viable,” she said of the company. “The goal was to kind of rise from the ashes and get back with those clients and gain some new clients as well.”
Sauve, who had worked for Premier for five years, convinced her husband and four other former Premier employees to join her in the new company — Barkley Logistics.
Barkley is leasing the space formerly occupied by Premier and, like its predecessor, manages logistics for mass shipments such as advertising and political mailings. The company arranges for time-sensitive material to be delivered from point A to point B within the parameters dictated by the client. Some of Barkley’s biggest clients include a housewares manufacturer and large retailers.
Facing a competitive market for large-scale jobs requiring as many as 40 to 50 truckloads, Sauve decided the company would stay away from those jobs, which typically carry a low profit margin.
“We decided to let the big dogs deal with that, and we said, ‘Let’s concentrate on the small to medium stuff that really needs special attention,’” she said. “If it’s over 20 truck loads, we won’t go for it.”
Sauve said she has rebranded Barkley Logistics to distinguish it from Premier. Barkley has put together a letter and sent it to former Premier clients to address their fears about dealing with the company.
“We tell them we are focusing on smaller jobs that we can give our best attention to,” she said. “We have our credentialer go over any potential freight carrier with a fine-tooth comb, to make sure they’re on the up and up.”
When Barkley gives freight to a carrier, the carrier must sign a confirmation on their delivery expectations and the agreed-upon price. It also holds the client harmless.
“The carriers started going after the clients with Premier, so we put the verbiage in to indemnify the clients,” she said. “If the client requests the document before we even have them pick up the freight, we can send it to them so they have a copy in their hand.”
In addition to Barkley Logistics, the company has also started a luggage valet service, called My Luggage Valet. My Luggage Valet uses the same computer system and carriers used by Barkley Logistics to conduct door-to-door luggage delivery. Sauve said My Luggage Valet has taken off, as many people find the company online at www.myluggagevalet.com.
The company’s six employees have been working without pay, but Sauve’s plan is to begin paying them a regular salary — plus any back-pay they are owed — around the first of the year.
Sauve is confident Barkley is going to be successful. Just three months in, Barkley hit its September sales goal with one week to go in the month.
“With the way we are trending, we’re looking to be within $2 million in revenues within the year,” Sauve said.
With a client list of about 50 percent former Premier clients and 50 percent new, Sauve expects the company to be able to grow revenues to $4 million in three years. If My Luggage Valet continues to be successful, she said she may need to add a call center, and the company may grow to include 20 employees.
As a minority/woman-owned company, Sauve will take the steps necessary to become a preferred vendor for companies that need to satisfy vendor requirements.
Sauve said the strength of her employees is going to carry the business far.
“We were very fortunate to have the talent that we needed come on board with us, because it was really the people the clients liked,” she said. “The biggest asset we got from Premier we didn’t even buy.”
Judi McCue, client services manager at Barkley and a former seven-year Premier employee, said she was excited to join Sauve in this new venture.
“I saw it as an opportunity to build a company up from the ground,” she said. “I’ve never been in that situation. It’s been eye opening, and it has its rewards.”
McCue, who is collecting unemployment until she starts collecting a salary, said she’s okay with the arrangement.
“It keeps you motivated to really make this work because I like this business, I like what I’m doing and I like the people I’m working with,” she said. “I understand it’s going to take a little bit of time, but given the job market and the way things are now, I see this as my best shot for having a very satisfactory career again.”
Sauve admits that the decision to relaunch the company was risky.
“We’re very marketable and we probably could have bounced back,” she said of her and her husband. “But we were thinking, ‘Could this happen again?’ We didn’t want to sit back working for someone else saying, ‘What if?’”
