3M Buys Meguiar's

Rob Tomlin said:
Does the concept of competition in the marketplace have any meaning to you guys?



When you have two of the biggest detailing companies merging, it more than likely does not mean good things in terms of both pricing and development of new products (R&D).



It's not a monopoly, but they will have the majority of the market.



I see it as positive move for both consumers and both companies. I think the merger could stimulate some great new products to market considering 2 of the most resourceful detail chemical companies will potentially be working together at R & D. This could also help lean out their product lines and make them more efficient as well. As far as market share, 3M already has most of the body shop market (their main focus) where Meg's MS is small. As far as retail/professional detail sector, it's the opposite. Merging both will create more recognition and create a win-win for both.
 
David Fermani said:
I see it as positive move for both consumers and both companies. I think the merger could stimulate some great new products to market considering 2 of the most resourceful detail chemical companies will potentially be working together at R & D. This could also help lean out their product lines and make them more efficient as well. As far as market share, 3M already has most of the body shop market (their main focus) where Meg's MS is small. As far as retail/professional detail sector, it's the opposite. Merging both will create more recognition and create a win-win for both.



I think you are a very optimistic person! :)



It's rare to have a big merger like this result in more R&D instead of less.



Instead of these two companies trying to outdo each other for competitive advantage, 3M just goes out and buys the competition so they don't have to worry about them competing any more, both in terms of R&D and pricing.
 
DavidB said:
I agree with you differently.



In terms of retail market share, Clorox and Turtle Wax have dominated sales. If the 3M/Meguiar's deal bumps them to the #1 spot and we see fewer "Armor All" quality products at retail, I'm all for it.



Unless someone actually grows share from someone else, nothing has changed since the Armor All guys are getting the same revenue. 3M now has the combined revenue. Do we know the business condition of the 3M line? I assume Meg's was profitable but definitely worth their market share in any event.



I assume in the near future 3M car products will get a lot of discussion time at MOL. 3M did not get significant talk time here and even less elsewhere. The 3M users are not as active posters (yes, I see the UF discussions).
 
IMHO, there's a lot of misinformation in this post...



First, Meguiar's is number one in consumer car care products in the US. Without a doubt. Armor All is number two and Turtle Wax comes in in third. 3M has never been able to break a 5% market share, while Meguiar's enjoyed a 20%+ market share.



Second. Meguiar's will remain a separate business entity and will continue to compete directly with 3M. Berry will remain on board as president and CEO and will continue to lead the company.



The best thing about this merger is it will free up some resources and WILL improve R&D and may bring about a more complete line for both companies.



The last thing 3M wants is to kill it's consumer line now that it has acquired the #1 consumer brand in the US. The idea is to keep it going and make it stronger.



Remember, advertising does not make a good product. Results speak for themselves. Look at the little companies out there. It's not their advertising that sells their products.



As far as I am concerned, there is no need to panic. I think everyone will come out better on the other end of this deal.
 
Furyous said:
IMHO, there's a lot of misinformation in this post...



First, Meguiar's is number one in consumer car care products in the US. Without a doubt. Armor All is number two and Turtle Wax comes in in third. 3M has never been able to break a 5% market share, while Meguiar's enjoyed a 20%+ market share.



Second. Meguiar's will remain a separate business entity and will continue to compete directly with 3M. Berry will remain on board as president and CEO and will continue to lead the company.



The best thing about this merger is it will free up some resources and WILL improve R&D and may bring about a more complete line for both companies.



The last thing 3M wants is to kill it's consumer line now that it has acquired the #1 consumer brand in the US. The idea is to keep it going and make it stronger.



Remember, advertising does not make a good product. Results speak for themselves. Look at the little companies out there. It's not their advertising that sells their products.



As far as I am concerned, there is no need to panic. I think everyone will come out better on the other end of this deal.





I don't examine business charts and end-of-year sales reports of detailing businesses, but even I can see some inaccuracies in your post. 3M definitely carries much higher than 5% of the detailing market (think of all the body shops that use this stuff).
 
Holden_C04 said:
I don't examine business charts and end-of-year sales reports of detailing businesses, but even I can see some inaccuracies in your post. 3M definitely carries much higher than 5% of the detailing market (think of all the body shops that use this stuff).



I think he is referring only to the consumer market, NOT the body shops. Could be wrong though... :nixweiss
 
Furyous said:
The last thing 3M wants is to kill it's consumer line now that it has acquired the #1 consumer brand in the US. The idea is to keep it going and make it stronger.



That is often the case but we shall see. We hope fo the best. In the end it will get determined by the beancounters at 3M manage them.



I would like to see market share from an industry source. I am not disputing the market share numbers but just want to see who is generating the data, size of market in #, etc.
 
They've obviously been working together on consumer products for some time. Nobody ever noticed the similarity between 3M's 39007, -09, -26, -42, etc, and Meg's #7, 9, 26, 42, etc?
 
Lumadar said:
I think he is referring only to the consumer market, NOT the body shops. Could be wrong though... :nixweiss



:2thumbs: Spot on! There are two distinct sides to the business. Consumer and Body Shop. Meguiar's was very attractive to 3M because they now have a heavy hand in both the markets!
 
That all remains to be seen. Those details really haven't come down the pipeline yet. The only thing that is clear is that Meguiar's will continue to function as a separate entity, competing with 3M and with Berry as the President and CEO.
 
Furyous said:
That all remains to be seen. Those details really haven't come down the pipeline yet. The only thing that is clear is that Meguiar's will continue to function as a separate entity, competing with 3M and with Berry as the President and CEO.



for some reason it sounds like you seem to have info no one else has.

How so??:nixweiss
 
LangMan37 said:
for some reason it sounds like you seem to have info no one else has.

How so??:nixweiss



Haha, hardly. Meguiar's has a thread on MOL in which those exact words were used.



Bottom line: At the very least right now Meguiar's plans FULLY to continue operating as if they were before the purchase, with the merger only offering potential for growth. Now, obviously only time will tell if that is true or not, but that is what Meguiar's is telling us.
 
I have some knowledge of 3m"s business practices. When they buy a companies, they have in the past brought them into their marketing group. Close out all indepentant distributors and market thru their own group. Bottom line, no more commercial sales thru automotive wholesale firms, and body shop supply shops. They like total control. There will be no wholesalers, they want all the money. They have done this time and time again.
 
Jon P. Nusbaum said:
I have some knowledge of 3m"s business practices. When they buy a companies, they have in the past brought them into their marketing group. Close out all indepentant distributors and market thru their own group. Bottom line, no more commercial sales thru automotive wholesale firms, and body shop supply shops. They like total control. There will be no wholesalers, they want all the money. They have done this time and time again.



That could be totally true, but the terms of this deal stipulated that Meguiar's is not to be changed in terms of how it is run. It was explicitly stated as a contingent factor in the deal.



3M also didn't buy Meguiar's just to eliminate a competitor- they did it to strengthen their presence in the industry by broadening their horizons. Meguiar's has successfully done what 3M has NOT- marketed and sold their products in MASSIVE quantities to the average consumer. 3M tends to cater to the industrial side of the industry in body shops, where as Meguiar's thrives with the average car owner shopping at their local PBE stores.



Of course only time will tell, but I can see 3M leaving Meguiar's mostly alone in this case.
 
Wow I've been gone from the boards for too long, had no idea they bought out Edge, nevermind Megs. Let's hope for the best.
 
Jon P. Nusbaum said:
I\When they buy a companies, they have in the past brought them into their marketing group. Close out all indepentant distributors and market thru their own group. Bottom line, no more commercial sales thru automotive wholesale firms, and body shop supply shops. They like total control. There will be no wholesalers, they want all the money. They have done this time and time again.



Maybe historically for auto supplies... but not on homegrown things like 'Post-it Notes'- plenty of retail outlets for those.



TortoiseAWD said:
What if they go after Mars candy and M&M's?

Tort



How about Mars goes after Wrigley?? -- Oh wasn't that today?
 
after giving this some more thought and how bad the economy is, i hope many of the employees at meguiars (irvine HQ's) aren't effected by this sooner or later. there are some really nice people over there...
 
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