Most of the problems at Malibu stem from upper management, many of whom have been there for a long time. Many of these "key" players were promoted from within, but do not have broad experience within the industry, and so are rigidly against change. It is frustrating to bring new talent and new ideas to a place where management immediately shuts down new processes.
In design department, it is a constant revolving door. Every season new designers are hired, given a number of private label accounts to handle & learn, and then if they are not deemed immediately successful they are either transferred to another division or dismissed. Management does not understand that it takes time to development a relationship with private label accounts, and adapt to each one's aesthetic and overall look. Overall, design gets a 3-4 month window to prove themselves, otherwise they are "switched out".
Management is very attached to very rigid PLM system to look up styles and information. In many cases, design spends a lot of time chasing down different departments just to get the correct "codes" needed to complete assignments. Often, it seems that design/creativity is secondary to having correct "codes" for data entry.
Unfortunately, design department is constantly pitted against Preproduction department, rather than working together as a team. This dysfunctional arrangement is not very productive.
Expect to work long hours, and possibly weekends.
Factories that design works with has very limited capabilities. Oftentimes samples come in wrong or missing, and this is just accepted.
Sales team is overly involved in the design process, and changes things even before showing to clients. There is a trust that is missing between design departments and sales, and this causes a lot of misunderstandings and re-working of projects.