Master Lock Titanium Series Padlock

Master Lock created the Titanium Series - the first significant padlock design change in 50 years - to combat a competitive threat from low-cost imports in the late 1990s. This new line of consumer keyed padlocks features titanium reinforced steel lock components, a laser-welded stainless-steel body, rubberized overmolding and a coinjection-molded ABS bumper. Master Lock wisely emphasized design in corporate planning to bolster market leadership. The company used design research and industrial design to identify unmet consumer needs and opportunities for differentiation and innovation. This approach allowed Master Lock to compete based on the company's quality brand image rather than price alone. The design team understood that consumers care much less about the lock itself than they do about the valuables protected by it. This understanding led to a strategy of lifestyle segmentation that opened up new sales categories. Products in a variety of colors, sizes and bumper shapes allow the line to meet diverse practical and psychographic needs. Packaging replete with lifestyle imagery and coordinated color schemes help consumers associate Master Lock's products with their own interests. Since its release, the Titanium Series has helped Master Lock increase market share to 75 percent. "The design of the new lock retains the beauty and simplicity of its predecessor while improving form and function. An intense study of the original icon led the team to create a lock that is respectful of the past but deliberately focused on the future. A new icon is born." - John R. Hoke III, IDSA, VP, Nike Footwear Design + Innovation "The designers on this endeavor found new ways for Master Lock to create value. Based on solid design research methods and practices, they packaged and sold the products right next to the items consumers want to protect. The result? Impressive new sales and growth. Sometimes design is about recasting a company's own view of how they see opportunity. This is certainly the case here." - Keith Yamashita, Chairman, Stone Yamashita Partners