The greed of private equity company owning YI is astronomical!!! Their strategy is to reduce head count and cut cost while keep acquisitions pedal to the metal. While this is good and works until certain level is reached, it does not work in a long run. Overall environment is hostile, caused by huge workload, underpayment, and aggressive unachievable goals.
The turnover in finance and accounting is extreme. The company changed 8 controllers in last the 10 years and the 3 CFOs in last 5 years. It is highly unlikely all these people to be bad performers!!! The situations and sales, operations, and marketing is not much better.
The rest of the team except few individuals usually quit or get fired within a year. There is a fear culture created by the management. No one is valuable and everyone can be replaced by cheaper resource. This fear-based culture irritates people and make them act in strange way. Almost everyone is unhappy in this organization.
Benefits are cheap representing the company culture. 401K company match is a joke, it has much lower company match and match longer vesting period (this ensures that only few people get anything). Medical insurance is awful with much higher deductions compared to many companies. PTO is laughable unless you negotiate it. Bonus is only in your offer letter because you never get anything (make sure you negotiate higher salary including bonus and salary before you start). In the same time HR department runs the false narrative of their great benefits and pay package while they only care how to cut costs.
Getting it all together. Overall management strategy is to create paper financial tiger and sell the company at higher EBITDA multiple and collect their exit bonuses. While this is achievable in a short term it leads to deteriorating organic growth and increase unprofitable M&A activity. If you run M&A activity, make sure that you have the talent to manage the business after it is acquired. With exit strategy in next 2-3 years management and PE firm do not care for long term success, morale, and culture.
Consider opportunity in Young Innovations only if you are desperate for income.
