Bridgestone 2002 Annual Report Download - page 12

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“Growth, yes, but strategic, qualitative growth,” stresses Bridgestone CEO Shigeo
Watanabe. “We will continue to pursue and attain growth in unit volume and in market
share. But we will accompany that growth with a heightened emphasis on profitability.”
Watanabe’s emphasis on qualitative growth has crystal-clear implications in market-
ing. “In the past, we chased every kind of business with more or less equal fervor,” he
notes. “Now, we are shaping our business portfolio more carefully in original equipment
tires and in replacement tires. Our center of gravity is shifting visibly toward premium-
grade tires.”
Concentrating on high-value tires makes sense in terms of growth, as well as in terms
of profit margins. Large sizes and high-performance specifications are the fastest-grow-
ing segments of the tire market in the industrialized nations. Another high-value catego-
ry that offers exciting growth potential is runflat tires. Runflats function safely for a
specified maximum distance at up to a specified maximum speed after a loss of air pres-
sure, and we supply them to several automakers.
Of course, commodity-grade tires remain a big part of the Bridgestone Group’s busi-
ness worldwide. Expanded production capacity in Thailand, Indonesia, China, Costa Rica
and Mexico will help the group supply those tires cost-competitively in emerging markets
and in industrialized nations.
Focusing on high-value seg
Product
Strategy
10