PPB February 2019

professionals and enthusiastic beginners makes for an ideal mix of talent, and the restructuring of tried-and-true ideas while introducing new strategies and programs. In addition to the partnership, the team has facilitated two additional changes, which are also significant in scope. First, the company launched an action plan with key performance indicators (KPIs) in its overseas office in China, which houses 15 employees. Secondly, the team hired a new senior director of information technology, who will guide the company to ensure its use of the latest, most innovative technology platforms. All the while, Spector & Co. plans to continue adding to its sales team to ensure a strong presence in all territories in the United States and Canada, as well as its digital team. To tackle such a grand mission, Spector & Co. developed an innovation strategy, appointing former research and development manager, Juan Martinez, to the role of director of innovation strategy. “Though we have been doing this for 27 years, we’ve never been truly strategic and didn’t really have a comprehensive program, nor did we have a leader in charge of it,” Spector says. With a push toward innovation, Spector & Co. also restructured its corporate social responsibility (CSR), becoming certified in 2018 by the Quality Certification Alliance (QCA). This is led by Director of Compliance Chris Pearson, who oversees the office in China. His objective, Spector explains, is to work one-on-one with the company’s factories to ensure they are compliant, which is influenced, in part, by the 301 Tariffs. “Our compliance, supply chain and product development teams have been very busy traveling across Asia to seek out new countries in which to manufacture our products. It’s been a truly grueling process, because it’s not like we can simply change a product from one factory to another,” Spector says. “Just the sampling process takes months and months to ensure that an existing product is perfectly replicated. Then, we have to go through testing.” But it seems the Spector team is up for the challenge—and many others. The team is also working on expanding its new Asbury line of bags, which was a hit amongst customers since it was introduced to the industry in August 2017. It was an intricate process that involved the hiring of Athena Saridakis, who assisted with product design and development. Her intention was not to look at what competitors were doing, but to start “totally fresh.” “Honestly, the success of our Asbury line was somewhat of a surprise,” says Spector. “Athena and I traveled around the world to seek out the trends in functionality, form and fabric, and from this research, we put together our first generation of Asbury products. We hope to double our sales in 2019.” To ease the navigation process of Spector’s products and services, in January the company launched a new, user-friendly website and plans are under way for a Spector & Co. mobile app, which will be introduced this summer. Looking forward, the company is intent on continuing to provide its clients with top-of- the-line customer service, and is willing to make far-reaching, in-depth changes in order to set itself up for success—and to do the same for its clients. Danielle Renda is associate editor of PPB. “My decision to partnerwithBlue Point Capital has been a year- long choice.We embarked on a ‘sales process’ andhired an investment banker to seek out ‘like- minded’ private equity firms that canbring in a different skill set to ensure growth that is profitable and seamless. And the proof is in the pudding—we had our best year in 2018, both in terms of sales increase andprofitability.” —Rob Spector Spector & Co. operates by these seven Rules of Engagement: 1. Customer service is a state of mind, not a department. 2. No is never an option; finding a solution always is. 3. A deadline is a deadline is a deadline. 4. All for one, one for all. 5. A client is more important than an order. 6. Fun is something we take very seriously. 7. Do it your way all the way. | FEBRUARY 2019 | 57 THINK