Rowntree and Market Strategy, 1897-1939

converted to a public company in 1897 under the chairmanship of Joseph Rowntree. It became one of the country's principal cocoa, chocolate, and confectionery manufacturers, part of a Quaker industrial triumvirate which also included the rival firms of Cadbury and Fry. The commitment of Joseph Rowntree and his son, Benjamin Seebohm, to fair employment and company weftare policies are well documented, but the reasons underlying Rowntree's emergence as one of the world's largest confectionery makers have been left largely unexplained. They can be found in a study of the company's evolving marketing methods. Rowntree's development provides useful insights into the central role of marketing in the growth of industrial concerns producing consumer products. Per capita income more than doubled during the second half of the 19th century, and, with disposable income rising even more quickly, the demand for consumer products rapidly expanded [8]. In such market conditions, confectionery firms could afford a relaxed attitude towards product development and salesmanship, and market demand, moreover, expanded faster than firm size. But company or internal economies ubsequently became greater than external market economies, and large firms were established inthe cocoa nd chocolate sectors during 1897-1939. Competitive pressures therefore increased, although oligopoly and collusion later occurred. The Rowntree's which emerged from the 19th century was typical of contemporary British enterprise and had no clear commercial strategy. Business strategy comprises the explicit calculation by a company of the most beneficial policy to adopt owards uppliers, rivals, buyers, and consumers [17]. Rowntree's continuance of traditional managerial and sales practices allowed the more dynamic Cadbury's to gain a dominant position in the industry. It was the company's specific adoption of a clear strategy towards its potential sales market and the application of systematic marketing methods after 1930 which enabled Rowntree's to survive and expand as an independent company. Such a market strategy involved eveloping oods with wide appeal, and the almost arbitrary trial-and-error methods were replaced by consumer testing and market surveys. After assessing potential demand and possible competitor response, the selection of the best marketing and advertising approach naturally formed an important second stage of its market strategy. The development of marketing is, not surprisingly, linked closely to the growth of the "new," mass consumer industries of the second industrial revolution. It was less critical to heavy industry, which might sell goods only to a limited number of other manufacturers. Advances in technology and greater throughputs enabled firms to cheapen production for a burgeoning consumer market, and efficient national distribution and sales networks were created to convey a large-scale company's output, especially in the case of