aluminium, and bitumen. Homecolour had a reputation in the trade, and among the more knowledgeable customers, for producing higher quality exterior paint than the competition, and it was in this sector of the market that the company achieved its highest sales. Market surveys suggested that the company had around a 5 % quality advantage over the competition. The own label production was much more varied in colour and tin size – the company, over the past 2 years, had produced around 50 different colours in up to 5 different tin sizes. Currently there were considerable variations in the type of packaging that was provided in the own label and branded sectors. The company had yet to standardise on a single branded theme and the level of instructions on the packaging varied considerably throughout the product range. Each pack had the Homecolour logo, and limited instructions.