You are the owner of Honeysuckle Faire. You started the business 20 years ago to provide skincare products that work well, smell good, are nontoxic and not tested on animals. Honeysuckle Faire began with a line of lip balms and hand lotions and in twenty years has grown to include over 25 products for the body including lotions, masks, cleansers and cosmetics. Honeysuckle Faire grew to be a $10 billion company.
After 20 years growing Honeysuckle Faire, you decided it was time to exit the company. The long hours of building the business had caused you to lose some of your drive, yet the desire to provide great products remains.
The consumer goods company, Spring Made, began the process of purchasing Honeysuckle Faire three months ago. Spring Made owns and operates over two dozen brands including household cleaning brands, cosmetics brands and personal care brands. Spring Made has been in business for over 150 years and has been regarded as the top household cleaning brand in North America for as long.
Spring Made ran into a sales slump five years ago when consumers began preferring nontoxic, environmentally friendly cleaners. Spring Made branded cleaners are made with toxic ingredients, most including bleach. This has led to many households choosing more environmentally friendly brands. Spring Made cosmetics also took a hit when it was revealed, although it was never kept a secret, that all Spring Made branded cosmetics are tested on animals. Even with most cosmetics brands testing on animals, consumers faulted Spring Made brand and sales dropped significantly.
Spring Made offered $100 billion to purchase the $10 billion Honeysuckle Faire company. Your advisors informed you that part of the reason Spring Made wanted to add Honeysuckle Faire to its brand portfolio was to help its image.
You are not as happy as you thought you’d be with the sale of Honeysuckle Faire to Spring Made. You feel that rather than truly appreciating Honeysuckle Faire’s vision and brand promise, Spring Made is using the company as a pawn to increase its own corporate brand its other brands’ sales.
Executives at Spring Made understand that until all contracts are signed, you can stop the sale to Spring Made. The executives have offered you four options to stay connected to Honeysuckle Faire once the acquisition is final. The four options are:
- Stay on as an employee – Spring Made will offer you a more traditional Monday – Friday position of director of operations or director of marketing for Honeysuckle Faire. The position will allow you to be involved in day-to-day operations.
- Board of Directors – As a member of the board of directors you would attend quarterly meetings and be allowed to vote on important decisions
- Consultant – As a consultant you would evaluate and provide advice on key issues within the Honeysuckle Faire brand
- Retain Shares – As a shareholder you would attend annual shareholder meeting and vote on significant matters that require shareholder approval
