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 – 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. Without directing their business, mass merchandisers presently control 50 percent of the do-it-yourself paint market in DFW. They have not yet pursued the professional firms in and out of DFW, nor have they pursued do-it-yourself painters outside of the DFW market. However, in the future they may buy their way into these markets through the use of promotional allowances, distribution of free goods to retailers, or by any other means necessary.
             In anticipation of this competition from mass merchandisers, Jones-...