Background
Black and Decker (B&D) is a pioneer in portable power tools. In 1991, it is a $5 billion in sales company with 29% of these sales coming from Power Tools and Accessories. B&D is the world’s larges producer of power tools and the U.S. market overall leader.
Problem Statement
B&D has a strong market share in the consumer and industrial markets, but is weak in the P-T market as it is currently experiencing decreased market share. In this segment, B&D is not generating profits and, at the same time, retailers want more advertising allowances and rebates.
Analysis
The U.S. power tools market is divided into three segments: Consumer (home use buyers), Professional-Tradesmen (P-T) (contractors who purchase their own tools), and Industrial (procuring professional buying in large quantities for industrial usage). The P-T segment is the one experiencing the largest growth potential.
B&D is one of the most powerful brands in power tolls. Its products are generally regarded to have high quality. B&D currently has 45% of the Consumer and 20% of the Industrial markets. However, in the P-T segment B&D holds only 9% of the market and is in near parity with Milwaukee Electric (10%) and trails Makita, which has captured 50% of the market.
Makita was able to grow rapidly in the P-T market as its dominance was aided by the rapid development of a new type of distribution channel, the Home Centers such as Home Depot, which Makita actively sought. B&D, however, was not able to grow quickly in the P-T market due to Tradesman’s perception of its P-T Line.
The Tradesman market perceives B&D as a “Consumer” product that is not on par to handle professional tasks. This is evident in that in studies of brand perceptions in the P-T segment, six manufacturers out-rank B&D, three tie with B&D, and only one is rated with lower quality. On blind trials the quality of B&D P-T products often outranked those of the manufactures whose quality was perceived to be better, implying that B&D’s problem is not of having bad products, but of having a bad reputation.
One factor contributing to the perceived higher quality of Makita and Milwaukee is that both are priced at a premium, and on average, are 5-10% more than B&D. This difference in price contributes to foster the perception by the P-T market that because the competitors’ prod...
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...f B&D P-T line may remain.
The recommended Option 3 is that B&D should go with the established DeWalt and Industrial Yellow. Marketing DeWalt alone is a better choice, as there are negative perceptions of the B&D line concerning reduced quality. Increasing the DeWalt brand awareness and improving the perceived quality will be easier and more successful to accomplish than increasing B&D’s perceived quality at the P-T market.
The color of the new line should be “Industrial Yellow” because other power tool companies have not used this color. It is a bold color, and will stand out compared to the other P-T colors. In the early stages, the positive associations will be associated with the original DeWalt Company’s reputation and safety as this color is used to indicate safety. As the DeWalt line’s positive market perceptions grow, Industrial Yellow will be easier to identify the high-end P-T line and will automatically be associated with high quality goods.
Although not sufficient by itself, Option 4 is also interesting for B&D, since Makita has already damaged relationships with retailers, and retailers “push” of products is an important element in driving sales.
Considering 4 elements of the marketing mix and the case discussion of the general trends in the industry, it seems that MCB is experiencing problem with place and determining its target market. The case provides many examples of the company's difficulties in gaining more retail locations, maintaining sufficient inventory level, and, the most important, improper positioning of its product, which impeded the MCB to reach its potential customers.
Internally the strategy moving forward was unclear. The chance to address 25,000 dealers demanded the new leadership had a clear picture of their mission moving forward. With a very narrow scope of product offerings and the slowing sales of their high-end speakers, the decision to expand into additional products, or stay focused on their main revenue source would determine the future of the company. Offering their product in the large retailer market and pulling away from the independent installers had already damaged their brand equity. Furthermore, engaging with the production home builders, while generating the necessary revenues for survival, alienated the custom installer and their referral clients. (Kerin & Peterson, 2013). Considering the relatively small size of the company combined with the dangers associated with brand extension could overstress the resources necessary to launch and maintain a new line. One of the keys to a successful concentric diversification is close coordination with existing customers and distributors. Unfortunately, the dealers that had made them successful were not pleased with their recent brand dilution. (Gordon,
Home Depot’s slogan, “More saving. More Doing.”, promotes Home Depot’s marketing strategy with more appeal for customers with less money to spend. Home Depot carries major brands but also carries Home Depot exclusives and proprietary brands which save customers money. Home Depot carries major brands like Dewalt, Hampton Bay, Homelite, and Martha Stewart Living. They also carry proprietary brands such as Ryobi, Rigid, Behr, LG and Toro.
b. They meet the needs of their target market by building their stores in closer proximity.
Nevertheless, it must “defend” its current market share if not increase it, by maintaining premium quality and develop innovative products. The marketing mix strategies will effectively achieve targeted revenue and profitability in the near future.
In 1978, when two executives Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank received news they were fired from their jobs at Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers, they decided to take something negative and turn it into an opportunity. They put their experience and knowledge of the business and industry together and developed a business plan to create a chain of home-improvement warehouses. Their idea was to create a business which would be larger and more profitable than any of their competitors. So in 1979, one year after being fired, they acquired their funding and opened three stores in Atlanta which they branded with the name Home Depot. Today, Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement chain and second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart, operating approximately 2,250 stores throughout the Americas (Parnell, 2014).
Home Depot operates in the home improvement retail industry that comprises of retailer that sell appliances, lumber, building material, kitten fittings and other home improvement products aimed at improving existing structures. Companies functioning in the home improvement industry buy products from retailer and manufacturer based all over the world, and then put those products for sale on the market to three types of buyers, generally characterized as: do-it-for-me, do-it-yourself, and professional customers. The home improvement retail industry is well established industry and is highly attractive and there is high level of price competition among the key players of the industry as the products lines are all the same.
Sourcing strategy. The Home Depot maintains a global sourcing strategy to acquire products directly from various manufacturers around the world. The company has a merchant team that identifies and purchases products directly f...
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Woodman, Chester L., Kurt Kuster. ?Small shop, big decision.? American Machinest (Apr. 2001): 78 EBSCOhost. Online. Nov. 2002 .
...& MAKLAN, S. 2007. The role of brands in a service-dominated world. Journal of Brand Management, 15, 115-122.