roots efforts. Market opportunities
are carefully scrutinized and
weighed prior to making decisions. In
an attempt to hold and increase our
dealer loyalty, we have resisted following our national counterparts
with market over-saturation. Instead
we have sought out expansion opportunities such as our recent asset
acquisitions of Progress Paint
Brands of Louisville, KY, our new
distribution center in Chicago and
our expansion to Canada.
CW: What has been the impact on
employees?
COHEN: California Products has been
very conscious and fortunate in not having wide range corporate layoffs or
salary reductions. The morale has been
held, as most employees understand the
current economic situation. The greater
effect has been on the field staff whose
income is directly related to sales and to
the competitive aggression. The field
staff has had to become more resourceful in seeking opportunities and more
creative in closing prospects.
CW: Brand or product differentiation within the coatings industry
has always been a challenge; what
are you doing now to ensure your
brands have their own identity.
expand sales and customer retention.
The main tools are education, merchandising and in-store tools, and sales support from our field staff. We continue to
expand and customize our training to
meet the market changes. We have
added higher impact in-store merchandising and tools. We also are aggressively marketing our on-line color presence
for at home color tools and our website
for product and technical support.
COHEN: The coatings industry has
been historically viewed as a commodity business. Any good idea in
product or marketing is quickly
replicated by the competitors.
Finding a value added position (VAP)
used to be as critical for a company
as it was for a product. Differentiation is the greatest challenge.
California Products’ mantra of best
quality-best service-best people is
now the expected. Having a somewhat sterling reputation, we have
shifted most of our efforts to technology and innovation and finding
unique selling points (USP) as a
means of having the products distinguished at the consumer and professional levels. The use of ceramic
microspheres, Microban brand as an
antimicrobial, and applying names
like Penebond to an alkyd modification are examples of California trying to find a VAP for its products.
Paralleling this is the use and availability of color in your tools and sampling systems. Color is a true separator when it comes to consumer
choice. We are exploring synergistic
color relationships outside of our
industry and are advancing specific
ones, one of our current market
strengths. We were on the forefront
of the color sampling tinting
machines and it has been a successful tool for a select group of dealers.
CW: Companies such as yours enjoy
a two-tier sales model: B2B and B2C
with both sharing the retail outlet.
How have you made your retail
channel not only hospitable but
serviceable to both?
CW: Even in a perfect world, homeowners put the painting experience
somewhere between a dental visit
and a colonoscopy. As a result, the
purchase cycle for paint is very
broad. This phenomenon wreaks
havoc not only on brand loyalty but
retailer loyalty as well. What are
you doing to compress the purchase cycle?
COHEN: When you do not control the
retail channel you must work within the
confines and limitations of the group.
Many operations have continued to
evolve into full service color, decorating
and professional service centers.
Unfortunately many still treat the business as a commodity center and are
experiencing a declining result. We try to
supplant the retail operations with tools
in providing them an opportunity to
COHEN: I love the analogy! The fact is
that very few enjoy the painting process,
yet almost all enjoy the result. Painting
is a very low cost way to dramatically
alter your environment. The problem is
today’s lifestyle does not allow many the
skills, experience or time to do so.
Branding has become increasingly
important as many have extended the
cycle. What used to be a room at a time
has now gone to a project based activity.
