DeWitt and Lila Wallace founded reader's Digest Association (RDA) in 1922. Primarily the couple ran it until 1973. After 1984, it was run as a true for profit business and in 1989 the company finally went public. The company was much more profitable under the new professional management. The early 1990's proved to be a stagnant environment for Reader's Digest and other magazines that were sold domestically. Due to these conditions, many publishers began to focus on international markets. The outlook for 1993 at that time was more positive. Average sales for the industry were expected to grow by two percent.
1. Focus on serving the customer by providing superior quality service.
2. Recognize and care for employees by respecting, rewarding, and showing commitment to them.
3. Maintain high ethical standards by being a good corporate citizen.
4. Maximize shareholder wealth by being an innovative, results-oriented company.
5. Grow globally primarily through existing product lines.
1. Grow current product lines by expanding customer base in existing markets.
2. Develop new products to market to existing customers.
3. Penetrate foreign markets with current product lines.
4. Achieve global growth within existing businesses and core skills.
5. Use Reader's Digest Magazine as the starting point for establishing relationships with new customers.
5 = Very Good, 4 = Good, 3 = Average, 2 = Poor, and 1 = Very Poor
In 1992, Reader's Digest had assets of $1.9 billion, sales of $2.6 billion, debt of $1 million, and profits of $2 million. Meredith Corporation will be used to compare financial data because of its involvement in the same core businesses as Reader's Digest. Financially, Meredith has been less successful than Reader's Digest. Meredith also lags the general magazine industry in some regards. However, it is the only firm for which data can be obtained, for the 1989-92 perio...