Jones Blair Case Study

The industry estimates that architectural coatings and sundries (brushes, paint removers, thinners, etc.) created sales of $12 billion in 2004. The architectural paint coatings segment is also considered to be projected between the 1-2% increase per year. The demand level for this segment is reflected by the level of home improvements

If Parkland wants to achieve the aggressive growth that the board desires his ability to improve the capabilities and the operations of the company will be one of his greatest barriers. Due to the affluent nature of the customers and the possible variety in the product Parkland should focus on improving the company’s organizational capabilities. A new plant will eventually be needed but that decision can be delayed if Charles can streamline its operations. Parkland needs to institute policies that will measure productivity and develop an accurate method of forecasting sales. This will result in lower inventory carrying costs, fewer out of stock issues, and fewer backorders that need to be filled. If Charles can reduce the number of back orders and out-of-stock products it can focus on a single product line at a time which will reduce the frequency of expensive switching costs.

Review of ABC Company and the directions it is targeting. The strategy of the company is to lift the expected sales in an aggressive fashion, with the expected end target being to triple the current levels. The plan is to push sales into the targeted range of $3 million within 3 years versus the current amount which sits at $1.2 million. We will identify the perceived risk factors that may impact this aggressive strategy and its successful execution. The following will be those risk factors:

Kirkland’s Inc. and Pier 1 Imports are among the major players represented in the retail home décor industry, where there is a constant demand to provide the right merchandising mix and marketing program for consumer attraction. However, in recent years there has been a decline in the retail home décor industry. Consumers have cut spending in anticipation of the continuing rise in gas prices, unemployment rates, interest rates, consumer debt and taxation. In the midst of a sluggish, unstable economy, both companies struggle to be profitable. In addition, the increased consumer spending in the fourth quarter for both companies does not

Lastly, the company suggest to expand their current inventory through increasing production and capacity. With the increase in production rate the company can gain more consumers as a whole through supply and demand. Doing this would give the company an opportunity for more exposure and perhaps better brand recognition.

      There were an increased number of contractor sales and architectural paints along with related supplies. An increase in Do-It-Yourself customers has also helped with strong sales growth. The increase in the Do-It-Yourself market resulted in higher sales of paints, wood care products and aerosol products. The services of professional painting contractors were in high demand, and those customers shop at Sherwin-Williams paint stores. These customers continue to shop at the paint stores because of Sherwin-Williams' quality products and services which have made their business more successful. Net sales for their Paint Stores segment increased by 14.6 percent

* Sales results over the past 5 years indicated strong growth in forklift and truck sales. The rental market has been in decline. Result in company decided to reposition itself to focus solely on retail sales and service and exit the rentals market.

Paint Prescriptions is a full service finishing and painting company that is located in Soquel, California. Paint Prescriptions was founded in 1995. Few of the services they provide include general painting, walls, millwork, doors and cabinetry, exterior painting, staining, finishing, custom staining, shading and antiquing, dye stains industrial quality clears and catalyzed finishes including epoxies and water based clears, maintenance repaints, etc. Paint Prescriptions also performs touch ups, factory finish repair and matching, metal finishing and restoration, furniture refinishing, cabinet refinishing, and doors, windows and skylights - finished to factory specs. Paint Prescriptions aims to deliver the highest quality and durability. Paint

-Just like most companies Rocky Mountain Protective Service LLC started its lifecycle out normal from inception to maturity; there where some roadblocks along the way however the company adapted and learned from the experiences. Even with those roadblocks the company historically has had profitable margins, however now there been an extended period there has been shrinking the margins. Karl Dent has reported that when doing auditing the cost of goods sold, salary to revenue ratio, and overall expenses are impacting the operating income leading it to shrink into the danger zone. The company has also seen an increase in both employee and customer turnover which is leading to a decline in low workplace morale. If customers start leaving the it probably means they are no longer satisfied with your products or

Why hire a professional? Well, the answer is very obvious to most people. A professional is trained in all phases of painting an exterior or interior surface. They are

The main issue presented in the case is that Meyer Mobile Homes Corporation has experienced a steady decrease in sales at one of their retail locations, Dixie Land Homes. To improve the performance of the organization, this issue must be addressed.

The company will have opportunities to market the brand to more states in the east coast. Profit can potentially grow by seeing

Campbell and Bailyn’s (C&B) Boston Office has long been the leader in market share and sales. This office was also used as a testing location for new organizational structures and new products and services. Changes in customer demand have decreased market share based, so the office needs a restructure. In June of 2007 the Boston office is reorganized under Ken Winston, the regional sales manager into “key account teams” (KAT). Concurrently, the review process is altered in a very odd fashion and Winston does not seem too enthusiastic about this change. Winston is preparing a presentation for the division leadership team and will discuss the effectiveness of the new

David Fletcher, a successful investment portfolio manager with Jenkins, Fletcher Partners or “JFP”, has been having problems with building and maintaining his team of research analysts. David is described by his peers as being calm under pressure, having a natural instinct to pick investments, and self-motivated. The intense workload David is managing has required him to put together a team to handle the time consuming aspect of obtaining and sifting through large amounts of investment information. David has an immense amount of experience and success in investment managing, but minimal experience in working within a group.

The problems facing this organization in order of importance are: the existing workload is too great for space making product expansion impossible. They are at a threat of having customers turn away if they cannot provide the service. The location offers poor access to distribution and is a poor location for retail traffic should the organization try to move more toward sector. The employees face physically demanding challenges from the