Sherwin Williams Competitive Advantage - Paper Example

Sherwin Williams is undoubtedly the North American leader in paint and coatings. Who doesnt know of the Sherwin Williams Cover the Earth? SHW boasts of attaining an all-time high revenue and escalated earning growth; all brought about by the companys significant boosting factors conventional financing and durable competitive advantage (Schwartz, Howard, and Stanley, n.p)

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The genesis of Sherwin William dawns back in 1866. The company was incorporated in 1894. Till today, the company has continuously grown in a great measure, and at present, the company has an employee base of about 58,000 people and has branches in more than 115 countries worldwide. Just recently, Sherwin-Williams sales topped $11 billion. Sherwin-Williams has four main business categories including paint stores, consumer, global finishes as well as Latin America coatings group (Dawar, Niraj, and Tony, 104). The most significant segment of them all is the paint stores business which operates more than 4,100 stores.

Competitive advantage

By taking advantage of the steady economic recovery as well as the improved housing market rates, the company has been able to sustain pressure and remain to be the top company in the in the paint and coating industry. Some of the top competitors of SWC include PPG Industries, Inc, the Valspar Corporation as well as Akzo Nobel N.V. Competitive factors such as loyal clients, strong brand, definite pricing model, efficient inventory management practices, and effective staffing have been the major competitive factors behind the success of the company (Sherwood & John, 14). For segments such as paint stores group, SWCs product quality, innovation, product line, technical expertise, service as well as price enabled the company to keep up the pace against rivalry firms, mass merchandisers, home centers as well as hardware chains. For the consumer group, technical expertise, distribution, as well as technology, have been contributive to the companys supremacy in private labeled paints, as well as manufacturers and other distributors.

For the global finishes group category, product quality, innovation, product line, technical expertise, service as well as price have kept the company from being overtaken by other home centers, hardware chains as well as manufacturers operated direct outlets. On the other hand, product quality, innovation, technical expertise, service, and price have enabled segments such as the Latin America Coatings group of SWC to defeat its competitors in market share margins. Additionally, the company has maintained its sharp edge against the competitive, rising and upcoming real estate owners, developers, and managers for the central segment.

The competent and expertise management team of SWC has seen the revenue and earnings per share grow to attain an all-time high of $4.19 (Goodhue, Dale, Barbara, Wixom, Hugh and Watson, 79-94).The strong brand of the company is indeed a great boost.

The company also enjoys a monopoly over its well-known brand in the coatings industry. The company's huge brand recognition has enabled the company to sell more coatings products at higher prices. Notably enough, the company is continuously investing to improve its products as the known well know brand of the company continues to offer quality to its customers. However, this does not come without financial costs (web, n.p). The company also finances its brand with massive advertising expenditures. Additionally, the large size of the organization is the main reason why it enjoys economies of scale. Small competitors are not able to keep up with the pace of the company. Thus, SWC Corporation will continue posting such results is the fact that it enjoys a long-term leading competitive advantage.

Work Cited

"3 Residential Construction Stocks to Buy in 2017." The Motley Fool. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2017.

"A Plan for the Future." Sherwin-Williams. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2017.

"Dividend Aristocrats in Focus Part 8: Sherwin-Williams Sure Dividend." Sure Dividend. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2017.

Dawar, Niraj, and Tony Frost. "Competing with giants: Survival strategies for local companies in emerging markets." Harvard business review 77 (1999): 119-132.

Goodhue, Dale L., Barbara H. Wixom, and Hugh J. Watson. "Realizing business benefits through CRM: hitting the right target in the right way." MIS Quarterly executive 1.2 (2002): 79-94.

Schwartz, Howard, and Stanley M. Davis. "Matching corporate culture and business strategy." Organizational dynamics 10.1 (1981): 30-48.

Sherwood, John J. "Creating work cultures with competitive advantage." Organizational Dynamics 16.3 (1988): 5-27.