The customer:

• Mediashop designs, develops and sells innovative products worldwide that make everyday life easier and solve problems;
• Mediashop is the DRTV market leader (direct response TV) in the DACH region for products in the household, garden, fitness and beauty sectors;
• The Mediashop Group, based in Lindau on Lake Constance with its main sales subsidiaries in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary, achieved sales of €180 million (FY 2022/2023) with around 500 employees.
• The war in Ukraine, high energy prices and rising inflation led to strong purchasing reluctance among customers in 2022 and thus to a decline in consumption in the main media shop markets.

The project:

• Management Factory was commissioned to fill the CFO role on an interim basis from October 2022 to May 2023 in order to bridge a vacancy and to support the company in the structural transformation process;
• The working capital had to be adjusted to the reduced sales level. During the mandate inventories were reduced by around 30%, which contributed significantly to the internal financing;
• Cost-saving measures were defined and implemented to improve the results of operations and profitability within the group. The measures on the cost and income side had an effect of approximately €14 million;
• The organizational structure of the group was changed significantly and the finance department was restructured and strenghtened. The forecast and budget process has adapted in order to increase planning accuracy;
• The required external financing volume was secured and, in this context, close the interim manager worked directly with the company’s financing partners.