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Unilever Canada: Becel Margarine

Jones Blair

Problem

Jones Blair company is specialized in architectural coatings which consists of general purpose paints, varnish and lacquers, it is sold to households or do it yourself painters, and to professional painters. They also produce special purpose coatings which are formulated for special environmental factors and extreme conditions. The architectural industry as a whole is seen to be in its maturing stage, where it is highly competitive, this increase in number of private brands is gradually slowing the overall growth to 1 – 2 percent annually. The industry not only is it facing competition between manufacturing and retailing levels, but it is also facing an increased level of competition from substitute products, such as aluminum sidings, interior wall covering and wood paneling, which consumers see them as new trends, while architectural paintings became a durable commodity that is infrequently purchased. Jones Blair Company is losing
market share, since the whole industry is shrinking, and competition is increasing there slice of the pie is getting smaller and smaller every once in a while.

Analysis

Referring back to the case, it was apparent that the JBC architectural paint market area is based on a geographic segment. They sell to households and professionals in within Dallas Ft. Worth, and they also sell to households and professional painters in non DFW or rural areas. This could be observed as so:



The DFW area accounts for 60% of the majority of dollar paint, which is $48 million in year 1997; although the DFW dollar volume is flattening or declining slightly, and on the contrary non DFW dollar volume is increasing at an annual average rate of 21% per year. Now that we have characterized the Jones Blair segments, further analysis should be done to know which segment should be served and which segment is a potential, and what is the company's market share in each segment.

This information is taken from the Jones Blair...