Xa Shareholder Update - July 2020

“Don’t ever let good enough be good enough” -- Bill Parcells

In my opinion, our company continues to make substantial quantitative and qualitative strides as we head into the second half of 2020.  We are prevailing despite the multitude of uncertainties confronted daily – uncertainties showing no signs of abating anytime soon.   

Though we have retreated from the office toward a remote work environment, we remain on the offensive.  Each Exterprise took to heart the concept of focusing on controllable events and activities.  We weathered the initial COVID-19 slump – we correctly anticipated May & June to be the trough months - and appear to be dis-proportionally benefiting from the surge as our customers and clients begin slowly to emerge.  

Our forward-leaning posture, enhanced by the valuable application of learnings derived from our Voice of the Customer research, I believe, sharpened the effectiveness and efficiency of our customer engagements.  Company-wide customer outreach increased by over 20%.

Quality is important too.  During the quarter we secured several new pieces of business due to our thoughtfulness, empathy, and tenacity.  Aside from notable Navicolor and KerrySelect wins, after seven years of investment, the AdipreneDirect team in Brazil, together with our client, secured a major account that will increase sales by 25% per year in the region.  These are just a few examples that could be cited throughout our organization and I would like to congratulate each and every one of you for striving to make a difference! 

Xenon arc is part of a small handful of companies that continues to generate year-over-year growth in the COVID-19 environment.  This is no small feat - and not an accident - considering our core customers, SMBs, are the most vulnerable in economic downturns. 

We are continuing to lean in on each and every one of our strategic growth initiatives with no hesitation.  We introduced the latest enhancement to our innovative xa-Direct model, directibility™.  The features and functionality of this online commerce platform are industry firsts.  It has been rolled out to clients, the feedback unanimously positive, and the queue is building for future launches.   In addition to the directibility™ roll out, the team has been investigating ways to increase launch efficiency, minimize start-up costs and add new dimensions to our business intelligence infrastructure, making every part of our operation fast, more efficient and better equipped to make business decisions.

On the client development front, our improved, deliberate, and methodical process is already yielding positive results.  Our targeted approach toward client and opportunity identification, thoughtful account planning, supported by strategic marketing landed three defined launches scheduled in 2H20 and three more slated for 1H21.  The aggregate impact is nearly three times our 2019 Sales by next year, and our sales pipeline is more active and robust than it’s ever been.  

Even with this momentum, accelerating progress is an imperative.  While other businesses bounce back, we bounce forward.  Periods of disruption are exactly when we need to be ruthless in losing practices that have overstayed their welcome.  Complacency doesn’t have  room at Xenon arc.   Our institutional character and attitude forbid it.  Instead, our dedicated investments and innovations toward driving customer and client success will deliver returns to all Xenon arc stakeholders for years to come.

We are going to face innumerable challenges over the next six months.  COVID isn’t going away anytime soon, the economy is going to endure more slumps and surges, and the political testiness in the U.S. is poised to reach new highs (or lows) before the November election. 

Team-oriented, inquisitive, innovative, ambitious, respectful, and ethical are just a few of the adjectives used to describe the culture of our company and represent a small sampling of the attributes enabling us to thrive amid uncertainty. 

Stay healthy.  We got this!

Paul

Paul Warburg, CEO