Background and Issues
Black and Decker (B&D) is a household name across America. Having received the patent for the first power drill, they are well known for their power tools. In addition to power tools, B&D is also known for its various household products, like the Dustbuster.
While B&D celebrated a nearly 30% stake in the power tools market across America, they had fallen drastically behind market leader Makita's 50% share in the Professional-Tradesmen market segment to just 9%. To get back into competition with Makita, B&D would have to answer several questions about their brand and identity, specifically:
1. Is the Professional-Tradesmen segment worth pursuing?
2. What is the problem with B&D's image?
3. How should B&D change their image to positively affect the Tradesmen market?
4. What factors come into pricing this new brand?
5. What outlets should B&D use to market and sell their products to tradesmen?
Brand perception can be one of the biggest factors in a company's success or failure. This case analysis looks at the redevelopment of B&D's brand specific to the Professional-Tradesmen sector of the power tool market.
Is the Professional-Tradesmen segment worth pursuing?
Since Makita is such a dominant brand in the Tradesmen segment, B&D needs to consider whether the market is valuable to pursue. Overall, the Tradesmen segment is 28% of the power tool market, accounting for $420 million dollars in revenue. Makita has a 50% share of this market, while B&D has 9%, a disparity of more than $170 million in revenue. The top 8 manufacturers (Table A from case study) account for 94% of the Tradesmen segment. B&D has a brand awareness that is stronger than all of their competitors (Table ...