Businessmodel of Sherwin-Williams

Customer Segments

Sherwin-Williams has a mass market business model, with no significant differentiation between customer segments. The company targets its offerings at anyone who needs to buy paint and related products, including professional, commercial, industrial, and retail customers.

Value Proposition

Sherwin-Williams offers three primary value propositions: accessibility, customization, and brand/status.

The company creates accessibility by providing a wide variety of options. It sells a broad range of paint-related products, including paint, stains, and associated supplies; protective and marine finishes; product finishes; automotive/transportation finishes; and aerospace finishes.

The company enables customization by offering lines of products that are designed for specific types of projects. They are formulated to meet certain conditions such as external temperature.

The company has established a powerful brand due to its success. It is the third largest paint & coatings company in the world based on revenues, behind only PPG and AzkoNobel. It manufactures several well-known brands, including Sherwin-Williams, HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams, Dutch Boy, Krylon, Minwax, Thompson’s, and WaterSeal.

It distributes its products in over 115 countries around the globe. Its paint has been used on many of the world’s most prominent structures, including The White House, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Freedom Tower in New York, Heathrow Airport in London, Arena Castelão in Brazil, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Lastly, it has won a number of honors, including recognition as the most used brand and winner of the brand familiarity and quality rating in the Paints category by *Builder *magazine.

Channels

Sherwin-Williams’ main channels are its 4,086 company-operated specialty paint stores, through which it sells its branded offerings; they are located in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Maarten, Jamaica, Curacao, Aruba, and St. Lucia. It distributes its non-branded products through home centers, mass merchandisers, hardware stores, independent paint dealers, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors.

Furthermore, it utilizes direct sales staff members for certain brand and private-label products. The company promotes its offering through its social media pages, advertising, and participation in trade shows and conferences.

Customer Relationships

Sherwin-Williams’ customer relationship is primarily of a self-service nature. Customers utilize its products while having limited interaction with employees. The company’s website features the “Ask Sherwin-Williams” online resource, which includes illustrated guides for painting, staining, and wallpapering.

The site also provides a “Color Visualizer” tool that enables visitors to identify the colors with the best fit for their homes. That said, there is a personal assistance component in the form of painting experts who advise customers at its company-operated store locations.

Key Activities

Sherwin-Williams’ business model entails designing, developing, and manufacturing its products for customers.

Key Partners

Sherwin-Williams’ key partners are the suppliers who provide the raw materials and fuel supplies it needs to manufacture its products and run various processes.

Key Resources

Sherwin-Williams’ main resources are its network of company-operated specialty paint stores located worldwide.

The company depends on human resources in the form of paint experts and engineers to design, develop, and manufacture its products, as well as salespeople to promote them.

Cost Structure

Sherwin-Williams has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant automation and low-price value propositions. Its biggest cost driver is likely cost of goods sold, a variable expense. Other major drivers are in the areas of sales/marketing and product development, both fixed costs.

Revenue Streams

Sherwin-Williams has one revenue stream: revenues it generates from the sale of its products through its company-operated stores, other retail locations, and direct sales staff.