When you see companies that just can't get products right, it often makes you wonder why they don't make changes to improve quality or design. Working for a company like Sellmark gives you insight as to why some companies can never improve. Driven by a CEO (James Sellers, not Darrell Mitchell as listed by Glass Door) who overrides decisions by directors and managers because of ego, bad decisions constantly move Sellmark in the wrong direction with their owned brands. Quality issues and bad design drive a poor reputation with the consumers in the Sightmark, Firefield, Kopfjager and Bulletsafe brands. The CEO is not an avid user of the products and has only a basic knowledge of the industry and industry trends. He makes key decisions on product design, manufacturing processes, sales programs and marketing, having very little knowledge in any of those fields. The result is bad products that don't connect with the consumer and poor brand positioning both with dealers and the consumer. Any suggestion on improvements to any of the products or processes is viewed negatively as a knock to the CEO's ideas. This puts you in a bad position with the CEO. So you either agree with the CEO or you are a naysayer.
Sellmark is the cheapest company that I've ever worked for. Pay is very low and often employees are hired with little experience because they demand low salaries. By the time these green employees get trained up, they are frustrated with the company and leave, putting managers in the position of constantly having to train employees how to do their job. Employees are considered expendable and are treated as such. Per Diem is low and you often have to pay out of pocket when you are on the road. Bonuses are rarely met because the CEO sets unobtainable goals that are never met. Departmental budgets are low offering little resources to make positive changes.
There are many great employees at Sellmark, but they will never see their full potential because they are limited to the CEO's lack of knowledge in the outdoor market.
