Christianjoint venture marketing
How can you double your profits with a joint venture? Just ask Watsco, Inc.! In July of 2009, the company completed a joint venture transaction, and by the end of the year, their 4th quarter net income doubled from the previous year. The earnings information was just released in February 2010 and has sent the company stock soaring.
How Watsco Doubled Earnings
What did Watsco do to provide such a jump in their revenue? The company capitalized upon the demand for more efficient air conditioning and heating in the U.S.
Watsco is a Florida-based company that specializes in the distribution of heating and cooling products and equipment. A joint venture was formed in 2009 with Carrier Corporation, a leading manufacturer of air conditioners and furnaces. The JV was intended to increase the market position and add new product lines.
They succeeded.
How the Joint Venture Worked
Watsco determined that there was a need and potential demand for replacement cooling and heating systems, especially in the Sunbelt region of the U.S. Thanks to U.S. government tax incentives for installing more energy-efficient appliances, homeowners started demanding these products be installed before the tax incentives expired. Watsco heard the call and responded.
The joint venture allowed Watsco to expand their distribution across the country, as well as expand their market base from mainly contractors to general retail outlet stores. It also provided working capital to expand its business and develop new products to fit the needs of the market.
The End Result of the Joint Venture
The result was extraordinary. By operating from 505 stores in 34 states and serving over 50,000 contractor customers with over 4,500 employees, Watsco’s new Carrier Enterprises LLC trumped the competition.
However, the new LLC doesn’t just sell the Carrier brand appliances. Thanks to the Watsco distribution contacts, it also built a strong product line up of premium HVAC products, all of which are built with the latest energy efficient technology.
This synergistic approach to market demand was successful. By taking a keen eye to potential market demand, Watsco’s strategic alliance with the Carrier brand and outlet stores filled a niche. Just in the 3-month period from October to December 2009, the joint venture saw an 82% increase in sales of energy-efficient products. Total Q3 revenue for Watsco increased 68% to $563.6 million and ended with a net profit of $7.1 million. That is a 54% increase of net profits from the same period in 2008!
What You Can Learn from This Case Study?
What can you glean from Watsco’s success? Take heed of their strategy:
- Watch for consumer trends. Markets constantly change as do demand for particular products.
- Find the niche. Watsco saw the potential niche for energy efficient products thanks to consumer demand and government tax incentives.
- Find the right and most strategic partner. Watsco partnered with the popular Carrier brand of heating and cooling products. This helped increase Watsco’s potential distribution channels and increased exposure to other quality brands.
This is a great example of how a joint venture can result in synergistic results. Though you may not have the same profit results, a strategic joint venture can help you capture new markets and see an increase in your sales.
christian fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A joint venture marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.
To discover more joint venture marketing Strategies join his free joint venture marketing Wealth Report.