Case Analysis
January 31, 2012
Table of Contents
I. Factual Summary: 3
How might one characterize the paint coating industry? 3
How might one segment the Jones Blair market area? 3
Which segments represent opportunities for Jones Blair? 4
What is Jones Blair’s competitive position in its market area? 4
II. Case Problems/Opportunities: 4
III. Alternatives: 4
Increase corporate brand advertising by $350,000 4
Reduce price by 20% 5
Add one additional sales representative 5
Control Costs 6
IV. Selected Solution: 6
Which segment should Jones Blair pursue? 6
What strategy should Jones Blair adopt to reach the segment identified? 6
V. Conclusion: 7
I. Factual Summary:
The executives at Jones Blair find themselves at an impasse. The company is trying to decide how to best deploy marketing efforts with valid solutions presented by each executive. The status of the industry was examined in detail in the case and a number of challenges were revealed. The U.S. paint industry, an industry that has been estimated to have $16 billion in sales in 2004, is a mature, slow growing market, many different factors impact demand and also EPA regulations are eating away at profit margins.
How might one characterize the paint coating industry?
The U.S. paint industry is considered a mature, slow growing market with many factors affecting demand. Industry sales in 2004 were approximately $16 billion.
How might one segment the Jones Blair market area?
The U.S. paint industry is segmented into Architectural coating, Original Equipment Manufacturing and Special purpose coating. For this analysis, the focus will be on Architectural coating. Also, Jones Blair’s market can be divided into two geographic areas, Dallas-Fort Worth (also the company’s headquarters) and non-Dallas-Fort Worth. Both of these segments can be broken down again into two consumer segments of do-it-yourselfers and professional painters. In 2004, Jones Blair’s total sales for the architectural