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| The Buck
Stops Here |
by ROBERT S. LEVIN
THE NEW YORK ENTERPRISE REPORT
JULY 15, 2004
Three Crises. This is not a test or is it?.
Ever get the feeling that the business gods are trying to see what you’re really made of? Mark Pollack and Michael K. Bloomfield are no doubt getting high marks. In the six years since they bought Sage Parts, a Long Island supplier of replacement parts for aircraft ground support equipment (GSE), fate has repeatedly thrown obstacles in their path. Their response: Leap over them. How well would you have done?
1999Attack of the
Integrateds
One year after they take over, major airlines decide to outsource all procurement to more integrated GSE vendors.
Gusty Move: Turn the Tables
Who’s a quitter? Instead of welcoming overtures from integrated vendors, Pollack and Bloomfield met them head-on. When one large supplier proposes to buy them out, Sage snaps up that company’s GSE division instead.
2001 An Industry
is Grounded
Minutes after the Twin Towers were struck, the U.S. airline
industry essentially ceased operations — and stopped paying
suppliers.
Gutsy Move: Go on the Offensive
Even as their competitors scale back, the two entrepreneurs
guess correctly — that they can fill the vacuum, and
step up their marketing efforts.
2002 Top Customers
Implode
In a nine-month period starting in August, United, US Airways, and Air Canada file for bankruptcy, leaving Sage holding the bag for millions.
Gutsy Move: Sell Harder
Pollack and Bloomfield, who hit the road right after 9/11, redouble their efforts. They sign up a string of new customers and recover the revenue lost since the Trade Center attacks.
Bottom Line: These two guys ace the final. The next time someone says, “failure is not an option,” we’ll know what they’re talking about
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