Creative Memories on Tuesday eliminated 19 jobs in St. Cloud to continue to realign itself in the digital scrapbooking market.The layoffs cover all departments and stem from a companywide reorganization announced in late 2005. A digital revolution in the industry has caused the company to move beyond its traditional scrapbooking roots to offer custom framing, Storybooks and other digital products.
"You need a different type of talent to drive digital," said Chandra Attiken, vice president of human resources.
The company has seen a slight decline in sales, particularly in its traditional scrapbooking products, President Asha Morgan Moran said.
But its new product lines have posted solid sales. Sales of Storybooks have recorded double-digit growth each month since launching in November, Morgan Moran said. Its Power Palette line, aimed at more elegant scrapbooking, brought in $12 million in sales between August and December, Morgan Moran said.
"Our focus must be to align our products and services with the changing needs of our customers to maintain our leadership role in the scrapbooking industry," Morgan Moran said. "That also means that we need to take a look at ourselves and make changes to our organization that will support our long-term success."
