C. F. MARTIN & COMPANY

The Client: Martin Guitar Company of Nazareth, PA is a manufacturing company established in 1833. It is now the world’s leading "high end" acoustic guitar maker, selling through a network of hundreds of dealers throughout the United States, Japan, Europe, and many other countries. Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Marty Stuart have been Martin Guitar players -- along with hundreds of thousands of guitar enthusiasts around the world.

Situation as Presented to PDL&Co: In the late 1980s Chris Martin was transitioning to become the sixth descendent of the family to the head Martin Guitar. Chris attended a strategic planning seminar presented by Paul Lovett and requested that Paul critically review the strategic plan that had been accomplished in-house by Martin Guitar management.

PDL&Co Solution: PDL&Co suggested two major changes in the planning process. 1) Programs to be accomplished should be founded on more analytically derived market research and 2) Each department’s planned programs should be consistently formatted with clear delineation of responsibility, timing, and cost/benefit. PDL&Co has been engaged to facilitate that process annually since the early 1990s. Sales, profits, and profitability have risen dramatically over those years.

Chris Martin, Chairman: "Paul Lovett has worked with me and with our management for several years. His analytically supported recommendations have helped reduce the amount of "guesswork" involved in key decisions. He has participated in decision-making related to management realignment, product focus, territorial realignment, and capital spending."