BWP Bats: A marketing case study of maple bats in Major League Baseball

Abstract

Brookville Wood Products (BWP) is a company created in 1965 and located in rural Pennsylvania. The company grows ash and maple trees on their 5,000 acres of land and sold timber to furniture manufacturers in the United States. In the late 1990s, BWP reduced their workforce due to furniture manufacturing moving to China. To stay in business, the company diversified into making baseball bats with a customer focus on the Major League Baseball teams. The case begins with the creation of BWP Bats in 1999 and the introduction of the maple bat to Major League Baseball players, followed by an analysis of their marketing challenges