Niche supplier with ambitions

Niche supplier
with ambitions
The American tool manufacturer Irwin is initially concentrating on the promotional sphere in its partnership with DIY retailers. However, that is due to change in the medium term
Irwin offers hand tools and accessories for ambitious DIY enthusiasts. When the company began to open up the European market over three years ago, the emphasis was initially on the specialist trade. The first successes here led to the setting up of the group’s European headquarters for sales, marketing and product management at Halbergmoos in Germany. Included as an additional feature was a development department, which tailors tools to suit the requirements of the local markets. Another function is to be the creation of new products as well.
The range offered by Irwin comprises a great number of products that cover the fields of sawing, drilling, clamping and measuring, and also include transport and organisation, occupational health and safety, cutting and soldering. Until recently these were available under a great number of different brand names.
However, since such heterogeneous marketing practices are clumsy, most especially when it comes to establishing the products in new markets, the company has carried out an international brand relaunch and reduced the brand names to just a few appropriate ones. Products for specialist stores are now concentrated under the “Irwin” and “Lenox” labels. The company works with “Tough Tools” in hypermarkets. And the brand names are to some degree complemented by sub-brands.
Names that can now be found in the DIY sector are “Jack” (saws), “Bernzomatic” (soldering and gas), “Quick-Grip“ (clamps) and “Strait-Line” (measuring). “Irwin” is another name that is available in the high-quality category. The company also works with private labels over and above this offer. Nevertheless, the emphasis is currently on the promotional sphere and on concepts for special areas such as shelf ends. In the words of Detlef Mikulsky, sales and marketing director for central Europe, “We hope to find our way into the DIY stores on a broader scale in the medium term, however.” The concepts are equipped with the appropriate sales enhancing aids, up to and including POS videos.
Irwin offers a number of different display designs for hand saws.
In terms of logistics the individual stores are serviced as follows: all stores in central Europe are supplied from Belgium, and eastern Europe from Poland. There is also a warehouse in England, from…