Black and decker case study pdf

Harvard Business School 9-595-057 Rev. March 30, 2001

Professor Robert J. Dolan prepared this case as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Certain non-public data have been disguised.

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The Black & Decker Corporation (A): Power Tools Division

Joe, I like you guys. But, look, I give Makita 10 feet of space. I give you 10 feet of space. They outsell you 8 to 1. What are we going to do about that?

In January 1991, statements like this no longer surprise Joseph Galli. Black & Decker’s (B&D) vice president of sales and marketing for power tools had heard similar sentiments expressed by many trade accounts. Makita Electric of Japan had practically taken over the professional power tools for tradesmen business since it entered the United States market a decade ago. “Tradesmen” was one of the three major segments of the power tools business—the others being “Consumer” and “Industrial.” “Consumer” represented “at home” use, while both “Tradesmen” and “Industrial” covered professional users. The distinguishing characteristic of the Tradesmen segment was that these buyers, such as a carpenter, bought tools for their own use on a job site. In Industrial, the buyer was generally a corporation purchasing tools for use by employees. By late 1990, Makita’s success in the Professional-Tradesmen segment was such that it held an 80% share in cordless drills, the single largest product category, and a 50% segment share overall. B&D had virtually created the portable power tools business in the United States beginning in the early 1900s. While it maintained the #1 market share position in the Consumer and Professional-Industrial segments, its entry in the relatively new Professional-Tradesmen segment held only about a 9% share.

The trade was asking for advertising allowances and rebate money on B&D’s Tradesmen products and profitability in this segment was near zero. B&D’s senior management resolved to put an end to this “no win” game, and Galli set about developing and gaining corporate support for a viable program to challenge Makita for leadership in this segment. He could not help but see the irony of a 9% Tradesmen segment share and no profitability against the results of two recent research studies: one showing B&D to be among the powerful brand names in the world, and the second establishing B&D’s professional tools to be the highest quality in the industry.

Black & Decker

In 1910, Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker, Sr., started a machine shop and, in 1917, received a patent on the world’s first portable power drill with pistol grip and trigger switch; 73 years after receiving its first patent, B&D was the world’s largest producer of power tools, power tool accessories, electric lawn and garden tools, and residential security hardware. Headquartered in

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595-057 The Black & Decker Corporation (A): Power Tools Division

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Towson, Maryland, B&D’s sales reached $4.8 billion in 1990, with nearly 50% of product revenues from outside the United States. Alonzo G. Decker, Jr., was honorary chairman of the company and a member of the board of directors. He had been chairman of the board and chief executive officer from 1968 to 1975. Prior to his becoming CEO, the CEO post had always been held by his father or co-founder Black. From its roots in power tools, B&D began a move “from the garage to the house” in 1979 with the introduction of the very successful Dustbuster® hand-held vacuum. This “into the house” thrust led to the purchase of General Electric’s Housewares Division in 1984 for $212 million. As part of the sale agreement, B&D could use General Electric’s name on products only until 1987.

Nolan Archibald, a Harvard Business School graduate and a former group president at Beatrice, became president and CEO in 1986. The early 1980s had been volatile years at B&D. It began the decade with a 19% net revenue increase to $1.2 billion in 1980, but sales stagnated at this level through 1983. In 1985, with net revenues at $1.7 billion, B&D posted a $215.1 million restructuring cost and a $158.4 million loss. For the 5-year period from 1981 through 1985, the company lost money. B&D’s $2.8 billion acquisition of Emhart Corporation in 1989 more than doubled B&D’s revenues and brought new strong brands, including Kwikset® locks and Price Pfister®

faucets, but raised the company’s long-term debt to $4.2 billion, representing about 84% of total capital. Figure A shows the growth in B&D sales and net income since Archibald became CEO.

Figure A Black & Decker Revenues and Operating Income, 1986-1990

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$ in Millions$ in Billions

The five largest product groups and their percentage of B&D’s 1990 sales were:

• Power Tools and Accessories 29%

• Household Products 15%

• Information Systems and Services 11%

• Outdoor Products 9%

• Security Hardware 9%

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The Black & Decker Corporation (A): Power Tools Division 595-057

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Household products included hand-held vacuums, irons, mixers, food processors and choppers, coffee makers, and toasters and toaster ovens. The well-known Dustbuster and Spacemaker® (under-the-cabinet appliances) brands were part of this group. The B&D franchise was especially strong in cordless vacuums, irons, and toaster ovens, each holding over a 50% market share in the United States. In 1990, 29 new household products were introduced, including the Power Pro™

Dustbuster® heavy duty cordless vacuum. The household products line was heavily supported with media advertising.

The B&D name enjoyed substantial equity in both the United States and Europe. An independent survey of 6,000 brands showed Black & Decker’s brand-strength ranking to be #7 in the United States and #19 in Europe.1 This put Black & Decker in the company of Coca-Cola, Campbell’s, Walt Disney, Pepsi-Cola, Kodak, NBC, Kellogg’s, McDonald’s, and Hershey—the other firms rounding out the U.S. top ten.

Power Tools Market

In 1990, portable power tools in the United States was a $1.5 billion market. Products ranged from an electric screwdriver for the consumer who might use it once a year at home to heavy-duty miter saws used continually throughout the day at construction sites. Segmentation of the market was as shown in Figure B.

Figure B Segmentation of the U.S. Power Tools Market

Nonprofessional users accounted for $530 million or 35% of the market. In this Consumer segment, consumers bought tools at mass merchants, such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, and hardware stores for their own home use. The “for work” market was divided into a Professional-Industrial segment and a Professional-Tradesmen segment. The $550 million Professional-Industrial segment was made up primarily of commercial contractors working on large projects (e.g., office buildings,

1Landor Associates Survey.

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595-057 The Black & Decker Corporation (A): Power Tools Division

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bridges, etc.) and company assembly lines (e.g., automobile plants). In this segment, distributors (of which W.W. Grainger of Skokie, Illinois, with over 300 branch offices, was by far the largest) played an important role in providing technical expertise and service. For a given job, the distributor could both specify the contractor’s tool requirements and recommend specific brands. Grainger stocked more than 32,000 items to provide prompt delivery. In the Professional-Industrial segment, tools were typically purchased and owned by the company rather than the individual users.

The Professional-Tradesmen segment was targeted largely at tradesmen such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, framers, roofers, and general remodelers working in res