Executive Decision - March/April 2008 - (Page 40)

THEBOYCOTT A VIEW INSIDE W hen Jim Chambers first heard of the ProtectSeals boycott, Kensington, Md.-based Prime Seafood LLC was less than two years old. As a fledgling company on an impressive growth trajectory, Chambers had his hands more than full running his business. Getting involved in the ProtectSeals campaign at just the point he was wooing new customers and had not yet solidified relationships with existing customers could well be seen as a somewhat risky move. He pushed the envelope a bit further than simply joining the boycott: He reached out to his customers and let them know what he’d done and why. Did he receive any negative feedback as a result? “A couple chefs were concerned about whether I’d be able to provide them with non-Canadian seafood of the same quality. I told them to let me worry about that. Since the switch, I’ve had no complaints, just compliments. Finding alternative seafood at the right price points hasn’t been hard.” Obviously, quality of seafood is of primary concern to chefs. How would Chambers characterize the reaction of his customers to his company’s decision to boycott Canadian seafood? “It’s been overwhelmingly positive,” he says. “I’ve had a lot of conversations as a result of this decision. In many Jim Chambers Fisheries Biologist © Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International ways, it’s been nice to have this topic as an icebreaker with customers. It’s Prime Seafood, LLC allowed us to deepen our personal connection. A good number of the restaurants to which I sell seafood have joined the boycott in their own right as a result of our conversations. I didn’t join the boycott to win over new clients or impress the ones I have. Those things just happened. Sometimes doing good is good for business. This may well be one of those cases.”XD 0% 20% Newfoundland All of Canada Value of Canadian Exports to USA Change between 2004 and 2007 -20% Jim Chambers is a fisheries biologist with over 35 years of experience including 20 with the headquarters of the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. He opened Prime Seafood LLC in Kensington, Maryland in 2004 and supplies seafood to nearly 100 of Washington, D.C.’s top restaurants. His business is expanding so quickly that he is opening two additional distribution centers this year– in Louisville, Kentucky and one in coastal Georgia. -26% -40% -44% -60% Fishing & Seafood Preparation Industries Source: Trade data from Statistics Canada. Inflation data from the Bank of Canada. Ninety percent of Canada’s sealers live in Newfoundland. As a result, some boycott participants have chosen to focus their efforts on snow crab and other seafood products that come principally from Newfoundland. Others are boycotting seafood from all sealing provinces (including Newfoundland), and still others are boycotting all seafood from Canada (including Newfoundland). This chart shows the change in the value of Canadian exports to the United States from the fishing (NAICS 11411) and seafood product preparation and packaging (NAICS 3117) industries between 2004 and 2007. 2004 was the last full year before the ProtectSeals boycott was launched. 2007 is the most recent year for which data is available. The Government of Canada uses the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in its calculations of which exports to apportion to which industries. 40 EXECUTIVE DECISION I execdecision.com http://execdecision.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Decision - March/April 2008

Executive Decision - March/April 2008 Contents Index of Advertisers Contributing Editors From the Editor's Desk Publisher's Note You Be the Judge - Unionization Thought Leader - Pitney Bowes Management - Flying High for Long-Term Results Strategies - Sovereign Wealth Funds Cover Story - In Whom Do We Trust? The Movement for Greater Accountability & Disclosure Finance/Legal - The New Boycott Model Green At Work - Transforming for Sustainability Technology - Embracing Risk Leadership - Executive Reputation Management The Global Village - China Moves to Curb Prices Economic Profile - California Gold Rush Transformations - I Can See Clearly Now, The Brain Is Gone Marketing - Effectively Using Market Research The Bottom Line - Brands: A Shrinking Advantage or Shifting Advantage? Pulse - Pandemic: Not If But When SPECIAL SECTION - Living On the Green: Luxury Golf Destinations

Executive Decision - March/April 2008

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