In an auto junkyard, two thuggish guys look down into a car’s trunk. They narrow their eyes, and the chubbier Tony Soprano look-alike punctuates his threat with a pointed cigar: “In this business, there is no second chance. You don’t do your job, you pay the price.” The victim is a clunky copier, cord wrapped around its body, alone in the trunk. Without any final words, the printer is crushed by a descending metal disc. A voice intones: “Discover Brother Work Group Solutions and put the hit on inefficiency.” The gangster duo, Vito and Tony, nod approvingly.
This commercial was one of three new spots that aired during the last Super Bowl, a marketing splurge by an electronics company that has operated in Canada for 43 years. Known initially for their sewing and fax machines, Brother Canada intends to soar on the wings of its premier product, the multi-function centre. The marketing tag line featured in the Vito-Tony spots parallels Brother’s goal: whack the inefficient business machines out of the market.
Your Office Partner
Inside the 56,000 sq. ft. Brother Canada building 20 minutes west of downtown Montreal, call centre employees eat at the same cafeteria as the warehouse managers. Sales directors walk by repair technicians on the lower floor. To create an inclusive team, Brother mingles management offices with a warehouse and a 16-agent call centre. Even if you’re a rookie lunching in the cafeteria, you can sit beside the president of the multi-billion dollar corporation.
More precisely, Brother International (with head offices in Japan) raked in $4.5 billion globally last fiscal year. It operates 18 production facilities across the world, employing more than 17,000 people.
And Brother isn’t just making sewing machines. On the contrary, Brother is one of the world leaders in multi-function centres (MFCs), a machine that combines fax, printer, scanner and copier capabilities. This all-in-one design offers “a more efficient package,” according to Brother’s senior marketing manager, Dan Courville. Brother was one of the first companies to offer MFCs in the early 1990s, when a recession forced businesses to spring up from home, creating the Small Office Home Office (SOHO) market. Courville says Brother aligns itself perfectly with SOHO by introducing an easier option than scattered business machines.
“Companies are moving from cross-hair cubicles into a more town-square open environment,” Courville explains, adding that employees share business tools within a group. He says “battleship copiers are clunky and inefficient.” But MFCs, such as the 5100c, enables users to print a report one minute, and then scan a headshot photo the next. A 4MB memory, coupled with high-quality scan resolution, further entices customers to work with a single machine. The price of $400 is respectable, (colour ink jet MFCs range from $250 to $700), and a Digital Journal test on the 5100c passed all the output challenges. No need to walk back and forth either.
Brother is banking on workers’ tired feet to boost its MFC sales. An Ipsos-Reid poll revealed that Canadians walk 40 km yearly to reach the office copier. Workers can avoid foot fatigue by grouping integral printers, copiers and fax machines in one area — better yet, in one unit. But Brother has company: Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark and Canon are all in the race to win the MFC marathon.
Evans Research, based in Toronto, reports that the ink jet MFC market soared 180 per cent in 2002 from 2001. Retailers like Grand & Toy and Staples offer more shelf space to MFCs than they did five years ago. Buyers appreciate how valuable an all-in-one product can be in a hectic office.
“Executives (who own MFCs) ask, ‘Does it make coffee too?’” says Brother Canada president André Hudon, laughing. That humour, combined with his business acumen, propelled him to the top position in 1999. The 45-year-old shook up the Brother infrastructure by bringing experience from his years at Provigo, the major grocery chain in Quebec. He also brought along some chutzpah: as director of finance and CFO, Hudon approached then-president Takehisa Kanazawa in 1995 with a high-cost plan to revitalize the organization. In the two-page list, Hudon proposed simplifying the warehouse, splitting the sales focus into commercial and retail segments, and hiring a human resources manager. Kanazawa looked at the expenses, then back at Hudon and said, “You’re crazy.”
Four months later, Hudon’s proposals became a reality.
From that rebirth emerged a marketing concept that soon translated into a national idea: Work Group Solutions. Blending with another Brother tag line, “At your side,” the Canadian-conceived concept targeted the notion of all-in-one compact machines shared by smaller groups, reducing a business’s hardware expenses.
Brand Credibility Goes a Long Way
Photo-savvy users would also be wise to look at Brother MFCs with interest. In the latest models, such as the 5200c and the upcoming 4820c, a photo capture centre installed in the body allows memory sticks to be inserted into a small slot. When settings are selected, the photographer can print out pictures at dpi as high as 2,400 x 1,200.
But Brother is not just an MFC company; sewing machines and fax machines are still on the product line, although prominently overshadowed by laser printers and the P-touch label-makers. The product teams are always on the lookout for new ways to invigorate their known brands. In fact, Brother’s latest label-maker, the PT-2600 ($200), includes Avery die-cut address labels that should affect future models.
Hudon says although Brother is tasting high-profit success, brand recognition is an ongoing challenge, since the company is “competing with giants like Hewlett-Packard and going after the same accounts.” Hudon admits that Brother is the best-kept secret in the business. Planting the seed of Brother’s business solutions is a continuous process, especially in the increasingly competitive MFC market and the already tight laser printer field. Brand credibility goes a long way in electronics, and Brother holds that truism close: They ship within 24 hours and customize consumer requests with the Japan-based Special Solutions Team.
Brother’s “at your side” feel is tinged with a confidence that allays fears for the average office worker. When business machines malfunction and disrupt the work flow, users want to hear the reassurance of, “Hey, don’t worry, we got you covered.”
And like any older sibling, Brother is always up for a challenge.
Brother Timeline:
In 1908, Kanekichi Yasui opened a small sewing machine parts and repair shop in Nagoya, Japan. The business was later inherited by his children and run under the name, Yasui Brothers Sewing Machine Shop.
In 1928, the Yasui siblings produced their first product — a machine that made straw fisherman’s hats. It was sold under the brand name “Brother.”
In 1932, Yasui Brothers introduced the first domestic sewing machine to Japan.
In 1954, the first overseas affiliate arrived in New York under the name: Brother International Corporation (U.S.A.).
In 1960, Brother came to Canada.
In 1971, Brother produced the first dot-matrix printer.
In 1987, Brother introduced its first laser printer, the HL-8, and later in the year produced its first thermal fax machine, the FAX-100.
In 1988, Brother started to produce labelling systems.
In 1990, Takeshi Kanazawa took the reigns of Brother Canada, bringing along a dose of Japanese management style. Elements included consensus management and long-term planning.
In 1994 and 1995, Brother’s laser printer HL630 won PC Magazine’s Editor Choice Award.
In 1996, the successor to the HL630, the HL730, won PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice Award, extending Brother’s streak to three consecutive years in the monochrome laser printer category.
In 1998, Brother (Canada) implemented SAP as their ERP backbone. This improved efficiency and garnered them the Staples Business Depot’s President’s Award for vendor of the year.
In 1999, André Hudon became the first Canadian president of Brother Canada.
In 2000, Brother International sold its 30 millionth sewing machine.
In 2001, Brother launched a multimedia advertising campaign with the slogan, “Put the Hit on Inefficiency.”
In 2003, during the Super Bowl, Brother launches three new ads featuring the Vito and Tony duo.
