Client: Ocean Potion
Business: Leading manufacturer of skin care and sun protection products. Founded in 1989 with headquarters in Cocoa, FL, Ocean Potion products are distributed nationwide and lead several categories at WAL MART, one of their largest retail partners.

Key players: Bob Grant, CFO of Ocean Potion

The Challenge:
Massive inventory requirements and the seasonal nature of sun care products mean that Ocean Potion requires extraordinary cash flow management throughout the course of the year. Before the sun care season begins, when client orders are dormant, the company must invest heavily in the packaging, labels, shipping components and chemicals that go into their distinct line of skin care products. This represents a great deal of disconnected inventory (i.e.: caps, bottles, labels), which holds far less value than Ocean Potion’s completed product inventory would.

“In order to run our business effectively, we need to stock much of our inventory during a time when sales are not active,” says Bob Grant, CFO of Ocean Potion. “We could not find a lender that could make this work in our favor.”

The Gerber Approach:
As the premier provider of inventory finance, Gerber was already comfortable lending against Ocean Potion’s large inventory, but they needed to get creative to navigate the seasonality issue. The management team looked at Ocean Potion’s financial history and tracked the course of their client orders. They realized that it was truly only a matter of timing, and that creative structuring of Ocean Potion’s credit line would resolve the issue. Gerber customized a multi-million dollar line of credit to suit the needs of Ocean Potion’s very seasonal business.

Results:
Gerber’s tailor-made credit line has been in place for the past five years and continues to serve the needs of Ocean Potion’s growing business. The company’s revenues have increased each year and they are currently investing in a warehouse expansion that more than doubles the size of their facilities.

Says Bob, “Gerber was willing to take a critical look at our business and work alongside us to tailor a program that continues to help us grow.”

Website: http://www.opotion.com

To learn more about Ocean Potion’s success, click here.