incentive trips binned for top FX sales people

Tough times ahead for the high flyers in Fuji Xerox sales team as management pulls the plug on the Honours Club trip to Chicago/Nashville as well as the Pinnacle Club trip to Queenstown.

The unprecedented austerity measures where the once untouchable sales incentive rewards have been cancelled and deferred, are shafted home to poor sales results in the first half of the year. In an internal publication, Fuji Xerox management blame declining profits for the hard times but reassure staff that the company is still able to meet its financial obligations. This comes in the wake of the local business notching up its $1billion revenue milestone for the first time last year

The disparity between increasing revenue and plummeting profits is attributed to a number of reasons that are currently being addressed. Industry observers point to the savage sales strategy of recently departed managing director, Nell Whittaker, where turnover was prized at the expense of margins as a good reason for the poor profit results. The industry is still reeling from the assault on prices from Fuji Xerox over the past 12 months.

The edict to slash discretionary spending, such as deferring the upcoming Honours Club trip to Mexico, comes as the new managing director, Sunil Gupta, settles into the chair. With little time for rewarding sales that don’t produce profits, it appears he’s taking the company back to basics until the profit margins improve.

It's a move likely to be greeted with relief by many in the sector.