Duncan Industries

Executive Summary

Duncan Industries is a company that prides itself on quality, innovation, safety, and customer service. They offer a broad selection of high-quality lifts that include the necessary features so that many different automotive tasks can be accomodated. Each lift is created with this particular purpose in mind and backed by an exclusive 5 year warranty. The commitment of Duncan industries to their lifts has caused the company to grow at an extremely fast rate in both the Canadian and United States (U.S.) markets. This high-growth is a key component of the company’s business strategy and needs to be maintained. Currently there are three feasible options to this problem. First, the company could focus its attentions towards improving its relationship with its wholesaler in the United States causing the wholesaler to push the Duncan Lift more aggressively. Another option would be to increase personal selling attempts made by Duncan employees to key states within driving distance of their Lancaster factory. The third option is to expand into the European market. Due to the limited information and the undeveloped potential of the North American market Duncan Industries should devote its resources to growing and solidifying its share of the North American market.

Mission Statement

Duncan Industries is a growing company committed to maintaining rapid growth in volume and profit and continuing to be a leader in product innovation, quality, and support in the automotive aftermarket industry.

Problem Statement

• To evaluate the practicality of expansion into Europe by means of direct investment, licensing, or joint venture or the escalation of efforts to expand into the existing North American Market as a way to continue the rapid growth of the company.

• To make a go/no-go decision on whether to enter the European market

Industry Analysis

Duncan Industries is a supplier to the automotive aftermarket industry. The automotive aftermarket industry supplies parts and service for new and used cars and generated over $54 billion in retail in 1999. Duncan Industries currently competes in the North American markets and is one of sixteen lift companies vying for total sales of 49,000 units in that market. The cost for a company to buy a hoist ranges from $3,000 to $15,000 and as such is usually a capital expense for the buyer. Types of companies that purchase hoists are new-car dealers, used-car dealers, specialty shops, chains, and independent garages. The largest portion of sales (30%) is contributed to new car dealers. Sales can then be further broken down by the type of repair that the repair shop specializes in. In response to these diverse needs, many different types of hoists are sold.

Currently, the industry leaders in terms of market share are two large U.S. firms, AHV lifts and Berne Manufacturing. AHV lifts controls roughly 40% of the market and has annual sales around $60 million. They offer both in-ground and surface hoists and compete primarily on price. They are also the only company in the industry with its own direct sales-force. All other companies in the industry either use wholesalers or a combination of wholesalers and company sales-force. Berne Manufacturing (roughly 20% market share) also competes in the in-ground and two-post surface markets. It employs a mix of wholesalers and company sales-force and also competes primarily on price. Most of the other 14 companies operate in regional markets and offer limited product lines.

Duncan has two direct competitors in its market for the scissor-type lift. AHV’s lift uses a different lifting mechanism and sells on average for 20% less than Duncan’s, but does not have as many safety features. The other competitor is a company named Mete Lift. They sell a similar product to the Duncan lift (again without the safety locking features) to a regional market in California and Oregon and generally sell at a price that is 5% less than a Duncan lift.

Company Analysis

Target Market

Duncan Industries is a company known for its quality, innovation, safety, and customer service. It currently offers a specialized product and as such has a specialized target market. The typical buyers of the Duncan lift are dealers like Firestone or Goodyear or garages that specialize in performing wheel alignments. They account for roughly 75% of the companies yearly sales. The other 15% of sales are made to customers who use the hoist for general mechanical repairs.

Marketing Mix

Product

The