Business Start Up

Background and Problem Definition

Jones Blair Company is a Dallas, Texas based company and regional paint manufacturer. They market their paints and sundry items in various counties, with the largest being in the DFW southwestern area. Jones Blair Company annual sales volume in the DFW area is $48 million of their total $80 million in 2004. Competition has steadily increased throughout the DFW area, as well as other counties, and they need to come up with a plan to remain competitive before the peak season begins.

Market and Industry Analysis

Half of architectural coatings dollar sales come from do-it-yourselfer painters. They represent the largest section of architectural coatings purchasers with 50 percent or $6 billion- plus. The second most architectural purchasers are professional painters, whom make up 25 percent of dollar sales or $3 billion-plus. Professional painters purchase their paint products and sundry items from specialty paint stores and lumberyards. These specialties paint stores and lumberyards account for 50 percent of paint and sundry sales. The remaining architectural dollar sales result from government, export, and contractor sales. When breaking down the architectural coatings sales, 60 percent are for interior paints. Exterior paints makes up 38 percent, while the remaining comes from lacquers and other applications. Since the largest and most relevant purchasing comes from do-it-yourselfers, we must focus on the fact that they first choose a retail outlet for paint and paint purchases and then brand. The brand is usually based on price rather than quality, since they are doing mostly home repair or improvement. The steps involved in the process of these do-it-yourselfers directly relate to how Jones Blair must develop a plan to stay competitive. According to the consumer buying decision process for Home Improvement Products this segment gathers information in step 2. Next they decide on a store and then the product. The paint...