Coldwater Creek layoffs part of company's rightsizing'

SANDPOINT — In an effort to wade through the ever-deepening economic swamp of specialty apparel, Coldwater Creek spent much of 2008 scaling back its business operations.

The “rightsizing” has meant layoffs and cuts to some employee benefits and salaries, said Coldwater Creek president and CEO Dan Griesemer.

Griesemer would not specify the number of employees laid off, but said the company has been selectively eliminating positions since early 2008.

“There have been some local position eliminations, but it is very different from the one we did last year, where the majority were in Sandpoint and it was across the board,” he said.

The company’s last major layoffs came in January 2008, when 65 employees from a cross-section of levels and functions were let go. Of those 65, 51 of the layoffs came from the Sandpoint facility, representing what was then nine percent of the company’s total area workforce.

Griesemer said the layoffs are only a small portion of the company’s plan to scale back its expenses.

“The real story is that we’ve approached the entire (selling, general and administrative) expense structure, and the employee expense is just one component,” Griesemer said.

“I’ve taken, and so has senior management and the board of directors, a 15-percent pay cut. We’re not paying bonuses. We’re not giving hourly and salary increases,” he said.

“We’re doing the things necessary to make it through this environment and position the company for long-term growth in the future.”

Coldwater Creek is not alone in its struggle to stay economically viable. The entire women’s retail sector has been hit especially hard by the recession, with companies big and small laying off employees and reporting dismal quarterly returns. Coldwater Creek competitors Ann Taylor, Chico’s and Talbots have all seen their stock prices drop and have reported quarterly revenue losses.

Coldwater Creek stock closed Tuesday at $2.83, down drastically from its November 2006 high of $30.95.