Does Every Company Need PR?

by lisa ~ August 17, 2009

Aug. 17, 2009 - Are there any industries or companies that don’t need PR?Before you say no, what if the company in question had a 90% market share?

That’s Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha’s (YKK) estimated share of the global market for zippers and other fasteners; the company’s name translates as Yoshida Co. Ltd. Founded in Tokyo in January 1934, YKK dominates the global market. It has 40,000 employees, nearly evenly divided between Japan and the rest of the world. Although it is still privately held, YKK reported 11.992 billion Japanese yen (US$125.1 million) in revenues in 2008.

YKK entered the U.S. zipper market in 1960 by locating in New York City’s garment district to be near its customers. Although it now operates in 70 countries, its largest manufacturing plant is in Macon, GA.

The company operates according to the philosophy of its founder, Tadao Yoshida, who said a business must foster a “cycle of goodness.” In 1994, the company established an “environmental charter” to “seek harmonization between abundant and healthy lives for all humankind and the environment.”

This is particularly important because YKK has a vertically integrated manufacturing system. It doesn’t only assemble zippers; it makes its own brass for the zipper’s components.

Unfortunately, the percentage of the world’s apparel that’s made in the U.S. continues to shrink. In 2003, the American division of YKK lowered wages and cut benefits for all employees; it also discontinued the production of some yarns because it was much less expensive to buy them overseas.

While this should be worrisome to YKK’s U.S. employees, it may not matter much to the company overall as long as the demand for zippers stays the same on a global level. YKK’s revenue sources are diversified into machinery and engineering, and architectural products such as hurricane-resistant and blast-mitigating windows and doors.

So let’s return to the original question. Could YKK benefit from PR within its chosen B2B markets? Well, yes. And no.

In the fasteners business, it would take an enormous amount of advertising on a global basis to capture the 10% market share that remains on the table.

But in its other business segments, PR could absolutely add value. What homebuilder in Tornado Alley or the hurricane prone Southeastern U.S. wouldn’t want to hear more about YKK’s specialty architectural products? This is doubly true if the company decides to seek a buyer or, conversely, if it chooses to launch an initial public offering one day.

So yes, even a company with a 90% market share in one of its businesses could benefit from PR.

Lisa Tibbitts is a corporate communications professional with an MBA in marketing. Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FinancialPR.

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