I. Overview
a. Industry: The steel door industry has been growing over the past decade as buyers are switching from old, worn, heavy wood doors to light and reliable steel doors. Sales are expected to grow at 2.4% in 2003 to $2.05 billion. There are several large manufacturers with Clopay leading the industry with sales of about 20% of total industry sales ($400 million). The industry is expected to exhibit growth in the future.
b. Company: Steel Door Technologies is a small, privately owned regional manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors. They have exhibited above average growth over the past decade and have a sales increase goal of 36% from 2002. They are considered one of the smaller manufacturers, currently operating in only 12 states. Their sales for 2002 are projected at $9.2 million, 70% of which is contributed by their 50 exclusive dealers and 30% from the remaining 300 independent dealers in 150 markets.
c. Issue: The issue at hand is whether or not to change the distribution strategy and/or composition of dealers in order to reach the 2003 sales goal.
II. S.W.O.T.
a. Strengths
i. Above average sales growth for past decade
ii. 50 exclusive dealers contributing 70% of total sales
iii. Each dealer is visited twice a month by a representative.
iv. Increased advertising budget
v. Good buying position with raw material suppliers
b. Weaknesses
i. Only 2.6% share of their market, 0.46% industry sales 2002
ii. Limited distribution network
iii. Limited number of representatives
iv. 300 dealers only contributing 30% of sales
v. SDT brand is low on independent's sales proportions
vi. Only 2 distribution centers
c. Opportunities
i. Thousands of unexploited dealers in ...