Strategy
Propaganda helped Powersheds reject unfocused expansion and instead double down on a premium, simplicity-led strategy, transforming customer confusion into clarity and driving growth, including doubling high-value cabin sales.
In January 2020, Powersheds launched an innovative modular shed product, growing rapidly during the Covid-driven boom in garden investment.
As pandemic-demand receded and post-acquisition, Powersheds faced pressure to sustain growth. Leadership instinct was expansion, of range, price points, brands and channels.
Propaganda was tasked to guide this phase, yet our review led us to challenge the strategy and recommend a different approach.
We found a market of legacy shed manufacturers behaving as though customers knew what they wanted; listing hundreds of product variations drowning in technical language. In truth, customers were confused.
Price discounting was the only real differentiation lever for the market. But changing home and garden habits had seen shopper demand shift away from sheds as storage to a lifestyle investment driven by living space expansion. Consumers were moving upmarket whilst the market raced to the bottom.
And with rising wholesale timber prices making retail price rises inevitable, the diagnosis was clear: Powersheds risked diluting its innovative positioning and pricing power with a costly ‘expansion’ approach.
Our Premium Focus strategy halted acquisitions, new category launches and restricted lower-priced products. Pricing governance was introduced, retailers were rationalised, and premium positioning was reinforced through a new brand proposition, “Powerfully Simple”, supported by expanded marketing investment.
In the first full year of implementation, against squeezed discretionary spending, brand demand accelerated while promotional reliance reduced. Revenue grew by 36%, profitability grew by 41%, and higher priced cabin sales doubled.
Propaganda’s intervention helped Powersheds refocus on the simplicity that had been its innovation, unlocking sustained premium growth.
View the profile in the MCA Members Directory.