Jones Blair

Jones-Blair Company, primarily based in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area, is an established company in the $13 billion US paint industry. A large portion of the maturing paint industry, $10 billion, is established from architectural coatings and the annual growth rate is expected to equal that of general inflation in the coming years. As the growth rate is slowing, the number of paint companies is shrinking at a rate of 2 to 3 percent per year. This decline is due in large part to the slow sales growth, but is also fueled by the necessity for continued expenditures in research & development and recent compliance standards set forth by the EPA. In the coming years, the Jones-Blair Company faces these challenges, as well as those presented by mass merchandisers competing with Jones in current business sectors, as they attempt to exponentially increase company sales growth. In order to reach these business goals at a time when growth is nonexistent, Jones-Blair must take immediate action and increase their sales team and refocus their sales energies.

Mass merchandisers pose a serious threat to the future achieved sales levels of Jones-Blair Company. Of the three primary groups of customers, do it yourself - paint contractors

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However, as good as this market positioning is, the achieved total grossed sales amounts will not allow them to maintain current levels of research and development and adhere to the growing demands of environmental standards. - and professional painters, these mass merchandisers have priced their products to capture a higher percentage of the home construction market and the business from paint contractors. So with a contribution margin of 35% the final dollar amount to hit the bottom line would be minimal and not add significant value to the company. The cost of such an addition would be minimal with a base salary of $60,000, plus a 1% commission on sales. With 120 of the company's 200 independent retail stores in the non-DFW area, the sales increases will be exponential and allow the company to reach established business goals. However, as the sales reps have focused on current customers over the last five years the sales team has