Allett

Case Study

 

Allett Case Study

The Company

Allett Limited today is most recognised for its brand of lawn mowers, which are sold into both the UK and export markets.

Allett is a strong and well established brand, having been launched in 1965. With its manufacturing plant based in Staffordshire, this wholly owned British company has an excellent reputation in the design and manufacture of precision, walk behind lawn mowers.

Until recently, this was limited to single cylinder mowers, fuelled by petrol. More recently, the company complemented these with a range of petrol rotary and mains electric cylinder mowers. Furthermore, the story does not end there, as last year the business introduced its first wide area rotary mower and, in 2017, will launch a range of cordless battery powered cylinder mowers.

As a consequence, the company now has an enviable range of high specification lawn mowers that it supplies to a number of niche users, from keen gardeners through to premiership football stadiums and first class cricket clubs.

The Challenge

In 2010, the company was very different from where it is today. It had recently undergone some restructuring to reduce its overhead, everyone was very busy, the margins were poor and the business was struggling to grow.

However, the management team recognised that change was necessary and that they needed a more effective business strategy which could deliver growth, long term security and greater profitability.

Action

The business decided to undergo a facilitated strategic review in November 2010.  As a result of the workshop based sessions, the Management Team defined a business strategy, the key outputs from the interventions were as follows.

Technical Differentiation

One of the critical differentiating competences of the business was its technical capability. However, it was also its greatest bottleneck.

Rationalise

The Company had a very broad portfolio of grass management products, a large number of which were attracting very small demands.

Focus

The Management Team decided to focus on precision lawnmowers to targeted market sectors and to drop the other ranges of product.