Introduction
Black & Decker Corporation is one of the largest and well-known American manufacturer of power tools, home improvement products, accessories and various other products. The company not only holds an overall leadership position in market but also holds a name for its consumer segment by holding 45% of the market share. Although Black & Decker has a strong brand image and position it only holds 9% of the market share in its Professional-Tradesman segment. Even without leadership in this segment company is doing really well and enjoys a favorable position in market in terms of it’s net income and revenue. Professional-Tradesman is the fastest growing segment in overall market and a lack of suitable share in market is the main
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This image is strongly correlated by low price and low quality. There was no clear distinction between the quality and color of the products. Professional tool users are brand conscious when it come to the products they are using, they want to be seen with the top quality and expensive products. Lack of proper usage of distribution channels is also an issue B&D is facing, there are limited distribution channels and all of them should be properly utilized.
Situation Analysis
Strengths:
• B&D has the highest market share in consumer grade power tools and is a market leader in that segment.
• Power tool quality is good in most of the tools segments
• Customer services are higher than Makita and Milwaukee
• It is a popular brand and a lot of people are generally more aware of this brand than any other brand
• In case of rebranding, DeWalt is another famous name and has a higher percentage of awareness among people
Weaknesses:
• Negative product image associated with B&D power tools to be used at home and not professionally
• There is no clear differentiation between consumer and professional tools
• B&D tools are not attractive, black and charcoal grey color are not appealing to buyers
• Perception of customers associated with low price, low quality
• Improper use of distribution channels
• Customers thinks that B&D tools are inferior quality and customers are brand consciousness
Construction appears careless or haphazard. Many details need refinement for a strong or attractive product.
produced less efficient tools. In document 2 by Huan Guan, it was stated that “These tools
Robertson is one of the largest domestic manufacturers of cutting & edge hand tools and a leader in its two main product areas:
Tradesmen most often buy their tools from the retail distribution channel like Home Depot, or independently owned stores like ACE hardware. In this segment of the market tradesmen spend about $3000 a year on tools and about $1000 a year to replace tools. Quoted in the article “On the job, people notice what you’re working with, if I came out here with one of those B&D gray things I would be laughed at.” Just buy this statement it shows that B&D tools are looked at by tradesmen as tools for the home or tools that are used for hobbies. Even though B&D products are high quality and sold at a good price tradesmen would rather purchase tools that are looked at as professional tools like Makita. Also it has been known for B&D tools to fail on the job. Even though these were tools that were marketed to the consumer segment, it still gave B&D a bad name to tradesmen. Some of B&D’s tools were solely designed for the consumer segment for home use but how was the tradesman suppose to know exactly what tool was for which segment. To avoid this confusion B&D could possible go out to job sites and provide information about their products that are designated for the tradesmen segment so people will be more informed about their product, or go to the big retail chains and have information sessions. By doing these things it could make their product more attractive to the consumer.
ToolsCorp Corporation, a company out of Tennessee that builds power tools, lawn mowers, lawn furniture, microwaves, and ranges. Currently these products are sold in retails such as Sears, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart. Their products are manufactured locally and have a promising business within the US and Canada.
Its technology is new and product not a well-known brand (it is not immediately considered in procurement short-list)
Poor Quality - Items returned by customers increased from 1% to 3%. One tenth of the boards returned to the Donner Company were damaged or out of tolerance while the rest were returned due to the company not completing one or two different required operations.
Robertson is one of the largest domestic manufacturers of cutting & edge hand tools and a leader in its two main product areas:
Tools are valuable assets for every mechanic or handyman. An excellent piece of tool spells the difference between jobs done quickly with ones that take hours to finish.
Robertson Tool Company is one of the largest domestic manufacturers of cutting and edge hand tools with wide distribution
Not respecting tools can leave tools in poor quality, example a file store correctly in wooden slot and protect teeth.
brand, many people were not familiar with it. Some of them even did not know it.
The case is all about CDS (Concept Design services) , earlier they were in to business to consumer business by d product name of “Focus” now they have moved from business to consumer to business to business format. They have tied up with many design house and they give them the design which they manufacture and then distribute to the customer. They also moved from manufacturing focus products to high – quality stylish home wares with a high design value.
Recent research studies showed that B&D is one of the powerful brand names in the world because of its professional tools that has high quality in the industry.
- Although the brand has been around for a long time, it is still not at the stage of popularity that it should be at