AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT ST. BERNARD SOAP COMPANY

St. Bernard, Ohio-based St. Bernard Soap Company, a bar soap maker formerly owned by Proctor & Gamble, has announced a reduction in force.

The reduction will impact nearly half the company's workforce or 153 employees.

It appears that the decision is driven by customer changes, notably P&G who provided the following statement.

"In line with our strategy to create superior products with the best performance, we are consolidating a portion of our bar soap supply chain to more efficiently and effectively deliver our bar soap assortment to consumers now and for generations to come."

"St. Bernard Soap Company is one portion of a bar soap supply chain that consists of a combination of P&G plants and various contract manufacturing partners. As we focus on the most effective and efficient supply chain to provide consumers with our bar soaps, we are consolidating contract manufacturing partners and will continue production at a P&G-owned plant for scale and efficiency."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT KP TISSUE

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada-based KP Tissue, a manufacturer of quality tissue products for household, industrial and commercial use, has announced that it will shut down certain older and inefficient production assets, including a Light Dry Crepe paper machine and six converting lines in early January 2023 in Memphis, Tennessee.

The decision will impact 165 employees, leaving approximately 400 employees to continue producing High-quality facial tissue and premium Through Air Dry (“TAD”) products.

According to Dino Bianco, CEO of Kruger Products, “While this is a difficult decision, it is necessary to ensure the continued success, competitiveness, and growth of our Memphis plant. We have invested over $400 million at our Memphis plant since 2010, and it will continue to be an important part of our business. We would like to sincerely thank our employees for their ongoing dedication and hard work The shutdown of these older assets will improve our operating efficiencies and have a positive impact on the profitability of our Memphis operations. Kruger Products will also be working closely with our customers to make this a seamless transition."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? IS THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL WITH AMAZON'S NEW HAIR SALON?

For those watching technology trends that have the potential to impact or disintermediate smaller businesses, you may wish to track the entry of Amazon into the hair salon business.

Although Amazon claims to be opening a single 1500-square-foot high-tech upscale hair salon in West London (Spitalfields), England as a technology test platform, the findings can have a severe impact on the hair care business.

Essentially, other than great haircuts at an acceptable price, the salon features a virtual reality system that allows a customer to model hairstyles and colors prior to "doing the deed."

The implications are vast, consider using artificial intelligence to match face and shape, coloring, and hair type (possibly from a small electronically-tested hair sample) to recommend the optimum cut, color, and maintenance products.

What if this type of for-fee service was deliverable free or at low cost when combined with a product order, using nothing but your phone's enhanced camera system? Allowing Amazon to become the largest hair product distributor in the world -- until they decide to create their own private-branded price-controlled products?

One can easily see salon-tested advanced technology to be used to sell more "product" as it is known in the industry. Such as pointing a phone at a QR code for one-step ordering and payment, with one or two-day product delivery?

Or directing its attention and huge financial advantage towards the personal care industry as a one-stop shopping experience.

Not to mention the captivity factor where an individual’s attention may be captured and controlled for a specific amount of time, perhaps for education, entertainment, or e-commerce exposure.

It is unlikely that Amazon is looking to open a retail salon chain as a business using licensed hair technicians is hard to staff and scale.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?