The present conjuncture is on everyone’s mind, everyone is talking about it, everyone in the Automobile After-Market which I have covered for 25 years is moaning meandering about thinking bad thoughts.
What can we do, how should we intervene, what will be the future, what will ensure a future ? are we doing enough, should we stop ? should we do more ?
All of this talk visits an aura of cloudiness on the business, not the least of which is the hypothesis of some of the “majors” that the crisis facing the industry will be prolonged until 2011.
How then do we intercept this development, this block to common sense, this fabricated reality that, in the view of this writer has no base or justification for the Automobile After-Market.
Well I started by visiting Falken Industries Ltd a public company traded under the symbol FLKI, a global player with more prizes for its product conceptions than - excuse the cliché of my times – Carter’s got liver pills.
Looking at FLKI competition first, outfits well known, now owned by major corporations, including Fortune 500 companies we have great cause for disappointment and concern. Simply just being owned by colossus giants such as Clorox, Honeywell, or 3M and to a smaller extent ITW doesn’t cut it. The brands and businesses they have purchased are in my humble opinion and according to my observations, with the exception perhaps of the US markets, dying, declining and losing market share. Moreover the business units are so small in respect to the size of the conglomerate that owns them that they merit little if any senior management attention. These units it seems to me are more of a thorn in the side of the executives than something worthy of serious consideration, let alone investment. The provisional numbers seem to bear this out. They are bad, and at some point these companies ? or I should say their fledging car care units are going to learn the notion of survival off the tit of their parent ? there’s no milk to be supplied.
But these troubles don’t seem to impact upon FLKI, or its product concepts. The Clean Plus® product group for which it is best known is doing it right, more importantly has been doing it right since 1997. This even as it suffered the criticism of the industry for its “backward” focus on quality, production and capacities, and deferred a meaningful attempt at building sales volumes until its production and logistic were in place to satisfy fully a demanding client base. Today, for example, the Clean Plus® Product Group can process orders of 1 carton to 300 pallet as a routine banal event.
Explain also FLKI “craziness” so much the topic of its competitors at industry events. Strong Distributor support, unified global, purchasing power adjusted pricing, a focus on production and capacity, on economies of scale that have made The Clean Plus® product group unique : no price increases since 2001 ! No other competitor can claim this. So what’s broken ?
FLKI business policies and processes are a pretty ray of sunshine in the darkroom wherein is lodged the Automobile After-Market Industry. There’s nothing broken at FLKI or in the distribution of its product concepts. There’s nothing broken, so there’s nothing to fix.
The success of FLKI product concepts was not denied by sales of its concepts during the two vacation months just past. These periods are often less favorable for sales of vehicular care products, yet as an example, the Clean Plus® product group registered increases in sales for the quarter ended June 30 of 28%.
“Distributors often comment that our product concepts produce miracles for sales” said Manuel Garcia, Communications Officer. Sales even in devastated Europe - defined as including the newest members - registered increases of 14,5 % in June. The sales progression is confirmed; July, +16,5% and in August +19,5 %, contrast that to reported figures for the competitive industry for the last 8 months -32 %.
And so, my advise to FLKI management is steer the course – there’s nothing wrong with your way - time has proven that at FLKI there’s nothing broke so change for the sake of change no thank you. I’m calling my broker today and buying some stock, as much as the meager means of an analyst can afford - on the OTC, symbol FLKI !
Author Resource:-
John David is one of the nation’s most respected expert analyst on the Automobile After-Market Industry. He holds appointments as a covering analyst with some of the world’s largest players. He also conducts a private practice as a consultant in capital raises, mergers and acquisitions for small to medium size manufacturers in the consumer, professional and industrial chemical, wipe, wet wipe and car and vehicular care industries.
Distributors interested in learning more about the Clean Plus® Product Group’s capabilities should visit www.cleanplus.com.
Concepts and Products adored by the citizens of Baytown, Texas
Falken Industries Ltd OTC : FLKI is a diversified industrial conglomerate that operates in Chemicals, Wet Wipe and Biodegradable Technology. Falken Industries Ltd is the concept behind more than 160 products distributed through a network of global platforms and the recipient of trade awards for innovations, biodegradability and environmental and health quality standards.
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