...1. PROBLEM STATEMENT In 2011 Aqualisa made an heavy investments of €5.8 million to develop Quartz, the most innovative shower in UK history. The electric shower is stylish, easy to use and install and solve both problems of end customers and plumbers. However, the product is selling at a rate of 15 units per day which is well below the expected rate of 100 to 200 units a day. The company is now looking for a new marketing strategy to generate sales momentum for Quartz. 2. SITUATION ANALYSIS Aqualisa, the 3rd largest shower manufacturer in UK with 18.1% units sold, has had a successful multi brand strategy focused on high quality innovative products, which allowed it to enjoy 25% net return on sales and a growth from 5% to 10% in a mature market. The two market leaders, Triton and Mira, have 30.3% and 21.7% respectively. The company is present in all segments of the market, and has a broad product range of nine models, which cover the three types of showers used in the UK (power, mixer and electric), ranging between €230-670 per unit. The company is also present in all consumer markets, serving both B2C and B2B clients. Their channel relationships are strong and the company is reputable in the UK market for its top-quality showers, reliability and great services. The UK shower market has a big potential since only 60% of homes have showers therefore the remaining 40% could be converted to installing showers. The population that already has showers have a variety of complaints...
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...Marketing Concepts Aqualisa Quartz Case Study Problem As Rawlinson stated, “real breakthroughs are pretty rare in the shower market” and that “innovations are primarily cosmetic.” After years of moderate growth and marketplace comfort, Aqualisa made the decision to revamp its R&D efforts to produce an innovative solution to the common consumer shower troubles of water pressure, consistent temperature, and reliability. When Aqualisa released Quartz, a new and innovative shower product line that would solve the consumer shower problems; it was hampered early by slow sales and a slow adoption rate in the early goings of the product launch. As managing director of Aqualisa, Harry Rawlinson was challenged with the question of how to generate sales momentum for the Quartz showers. In addition to increasing sales there was also a question that Rawlinson failed to thoroughly address in the article, which was, should he drop the price? Analysis One thing that Rawlinson would have to consider for driving sales would be the price of the product. Although the article does not include any bulk or discounted prices, Rawlinson often stated in the article that discounting the price of their products was not something they cared to do. What I find interesting about the Quartz products is that the cost to produce the product is very comparable (€175 - €230) to the other products that they were currently making. Granted there was an increase from the money spent on R&D, but his perception...
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...Aqualisa is a well-established manufacturer of showers in the UK. The company is recognized for quality products, innovation and great service. Despite great features and benefits of the recently developed digital shower Quartz, the initial sales results are very disappointing, and the management needs to redefine marketing strategy in order to improve performance. In particular, key decisions need to be made about target segment, value proposition and marketing mix. 1. What value does the Quartz shower offer to plumbers and consumers (its value proposition)? Quartz shower is a very unique product in the market place with multiple competitive advantages. It offers great value for both plumbers and customers, however it seems that the target market has not been carefully selected and value proposition has not been well defined and communicated. | Plumbers | Consumers | Value Proposition | * Saves time on installation - easy to install within 4 hours, can be completed even by apprentice, low space requirement, less complex / challenging job * Allows to generate more profit versus other shower products – due to easy installation, plumbers can take more orders / jobs * Drives business & customer satisfaction – appealing product, easy to demonstrate, more happy customers due to product features & benefits, incremental business growth by word of mouth * Reliability - 5 year warranty | * Convenience, All-in-One - efficient and reliable water pressure and...
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...9-502-030 REV: JULY 10, 2006 YOUNGME MOON Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower Plumbing hasn’t changed since Roman times. — Tim Pestell, Aqualisa national sales manager Harry Rawlinson (HBS ‘90) shrugged out of his overcoat and headed to the reception desk of the South Kent County Marriott. “Can you direct me to the breakfast room?” he asked, “I’m meeting some guests from America.” The receptionist pointed toward a hallway lined with photographs of the region’s golf fairways and putting greens. “It’s just to the left down there,” she said. As he strode down the narrow corridor, Rawlinson, managing director of Aqualisa (see Exhibit 1), a U.K. shower manufacturer, felt a surge of energy. He had been looking forward to this opportunity to discuss an HBS case possibility. In May 2001 Aqualisa had launched the Quartz shower, the first significant product innovation in the U.K. shower market since—well, to Rawlinson’s mind—since forever. But here it was early September 2001, and the euphoria surrounding the product’s initial launch had long since faded. Rawlinson knew the Quartz was technologically leaps and bounds above other U.K. showers in terms of water pressure, ease of installation, use, and design. But for some reason, it simply wasn’t selling. The U.K. Shower Market Rawlinson leaned forward as he began to explain his situation. Showers in the U.K. were plagued with problems. While everyone had a bathtub, only about 60% of U.K. homes had showers. Archaic plumbing...
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...Subject: Aqualisa Quartz Question 1: Why is the Quartz shower not selling? When Rawlinson, managing director, joined the Aqualisa Showers Ltd, a shower manufacturing company, he realized, that their competitors were catching up Aqualisa products quality, products were starting to be perceived as overpriced and service wasn’t great and therefor it was a matter of time when Aqualisa could start losing their market share. After huge time and financial investments, Aqualisa came with innovative fundamental products – Quartz Standard Shower and Quartz Pumped Shower. While the Quartz products were recognized and rewarded as clever, easy to install and elegant designed, actual sales wasn’t as good as expected. This raised the question why is the Quartz shower not selling and how to generate sales momentum?! Before the Quartz products were even developed, it was clear that the shower market has a perception that innovations in shower technologies are untrusted, plumbers preferred to install showers they knew that they can trust and were loyal to a single brand. Plumbers played a serious role in deciding which shower product to install; statistics showed that 73% of Mixer Showers was chosen by plumbers or with their influence, not the consumer (Exhibit 4). As every business should focus on innovations and marketing, Aqualisa with its Quartz products concentrated on innovation, but lost a focus on marketing. They needed to have stronger focus on researching the market how to...
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...Marketing Management Case Study May 2, 2013 Prof. Michele Costabile Francesco Borsetti Davide Novelli Bruno Ricardo Yuli Pacheco Valentina Verde UK MARKET FOR SHOWERS Environment Clustering THE PRODUCT SWOT ANALYSIS BRAND MANAGEMENT PRICING Cost comparable Pricing strategy PUSH STRATEGY Which advantages for the intermediaries? PRODUCT PROFITABILITY: BREAK EVEN POINT VALUE PROPOSITION CHANNEL AND DISTRIBUTION CONCLUSIONS Low diffusion of showers/high diffusion of bathtube Old equipments with temperature and pressure problems Low product involvement Low brand awareness (Triton excluded) Key role of plumbers 10,000 Master plumbers in UK SHORTAGE Long training 40-50 showers installation per year Labour cost: €40-€80 per hour Warried about innovation Plumbers advises about showers influence the 70% of the market Value segment Price sensitive Influenced by plumbers Standard segment Performance and service sensitive Influenced by plumbers Style sensitive Showrooms buyer Influenced by showrooms consultants Developers Large channel Price sensitive Different needs: in new buildings there aren’t pressure/temperature problems Do-it-yourself Premium segment Price sensitive Need easy installation Plumbers: the Infomediary Product Innovative for the market Solution of diffuse problems: low...
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...AQUALISA CASE STUDY AQUALISA VALUE PROPOSITION • Easy to install: half a day V/S 2 days. Apprentice can also install • Earn more Plumbers can do more install in less time more profitable • Reliable : lesser break downs. Second visit if require need to be borne by the plumber. C O N S U M E R S • Safety: Family and especially safe for kids • Ease of use: Remote control, one touch button, indicator - All age group can use. • As easy to installed DIY customer can easily adopt. • No issue :flow, temperature pressure or P L U M B E R S • Smart & Sleek design: No excavation, no major space requirement • Save Labor & excavation cost WHY IS QUARTZ SHOWER NOT SELLING Great PRODUCT High PRICE Lack of awareness: Among Plumbers, Consumers, Distribution channels, plumbers skeptical due to past experiences to adopt newer innovations. Lack of focus: only 10% time spend by employees focusing on new customer, 90% in maintaining existing accounts, distributors, contractors, trade etc. Lack of marketing efforts: Very selective & limited promotion. Average POSITIONING Low PROMOTION Was Aqualisa Worth the Money • Aqualisa Quartz - a great product • Overcame shortfalls in other showers in the market had, including Aqualisa’s own brand. • Efficient & reliable water pressure, temperature control, ease of installation, one touch button and other features. • 1st price at Bathroom Expo in London in 2001. • Good and positive reviews about the product in the news papers...
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...November 13, 2011 Aqualisa Quartz Case Study SCH-MGMT 660 Ben Hubbard FALL 2011 Table of Contents Overview............................................................................................................................... 3 SWOT Analysis: ..................................................................................................................... 3 Strengths: ......................................................................................................................................3 Weaknesses: ..................................................................................................................................3 Opportunities:................................................................................................................................3 Threats: .........................................................................................................................................3 Alternative Analysis............................................................................................................... 3 Plumbers: ......................................................................................................................................4 Showrooms: ...................................................................................................................................4 DIY:.......................................................................................................
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...Aqualisa Quartz Subject: How to best market the new Aqualisa Quartz line of showers Problem: Aqualisa has created a superior new shower line that seems to be perfect for the needs of customers but the sales are far below expectations. Customers do not have brand awareness of Aqualisa, plumbers are wary of innovation and salesmen are unsure of how to positively market a product without negatively reflecting on other products in their company. Background of the situation: In the United Kingdom only about 60% of homes have showers due to the unique issues of bathroom remodels in Victorian era homes. Homes with plumbing from this period are gravity fed, with a separate boiler; this meant poor water pressure and temperature fluctuations. Three types of shower solutions were installed in UK bathrooms. * Electric Showers use water from cold water supply. Electrical heating elements in the shower raise the temperature of the water. This type of shower did not address the flow problem. These are a budget solution and very bulky. * Mixer Shower valves; either Manual or Thermostatic. Both mix hot and cold water to create the desired temperature of the water; these require a lot of excavation of the wall during the installation. To help the water pressure additional booster pump was used. These are a high end, attractive, but costly solution. * Integral power showers are compact with thermostatic mixer valve and a booster pump. They require mounting of a box in the wall...
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...be as easy as they thought. In Aqualisa case, Harry Rawlinson, managing director of Aqualisa, gives us an example that even with new significant shower product Quartz, which seems to be perfect in every aspect, they cannot make a relative progress in U.K. shower market. Quartz is designed to solve all the troubles that exist in U.K. showers. It provides efficient and reliable water pressure and temperature, needs less space in bathroom, has a stylish looking and is easy to use and install. Although Quartz leaps all other showers, the initial sales results turned to be gloomy, as Rawlinson said “For some reason, it simply wasn’t selling”. To reveal these “reasons”, we will first look at the general shower market status, and then we will analysis two main factors that cause Quart fail in initial Sales: Quart itself and Plumber. Finally, we will examine Aqualisa’s marketing strategy and find out what is the right thing to do. Shower market in U.K. The U.K. shower market has 3 distribution channels, 3 buyer segments, and 2 Special roles: Plumber and Developer. To give a brief summary, we will use some charts to demonstrate characteristics of these elements, and use it for latter discussions. Chart 1: Distribution channels in U.K. shower market Distribution channels Features Showrooms Consulting and display High end Installation services Aqualisa share 25% Trade Shops Sell all available brands Primary customer is plumber Aqualisa share 40% Do-It-Yourself Sheds...
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...DATE To: Harry Rawlinson, Managing Director, Aqualisa From: Jun Mo Kim, Marketing Analyst Subject: The marketing strategy for the Quartz product Introduction Showers market in the U.K. was bothered with problems that only about 60% of households in U.K. had showers. Even though Aqualisa accomplished an innovation of the Quartz shower, momentous product regarding quality and cost, they still faced problems that had low sales and did not meet the company’s expectations. The purpose of this memo is to review the important features related to a new plan for Aqualsa’s success in the future. This memo will address market analysis, situation analysis, and a recommendation. Market analysis According to case, showers in U.K. used four different channels such as trade shops, distributors, showrooms and DIY outlets to sell products. First, the major customer of trade shops was the plumber who was seeking believable product availability rather than official information and Aqualisa products were available in 40% of trade shops. Next, about 2,000 showrooms were in U.K. and about 25% of Aqualisa products were sold. They tended to be more high-end and were supplied by distributors. Therefore, Consultant in showrooms usually helped consumers for the choosing and planning for their bathroom. Also, showrooms not only enabled costumers to view the product but also offered installation services. Last, do-it-yourself retail outlets offered do-it-yourself products such as Electric...
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...AQUALISA QUARTZ: SIMPLY A BETTER SHOWER F ELIX L E C HEVALLIER – 11/01/2012 1) Which value do the various products from Aqualisa (the UK company) create: for consumers ? for plumbers ? for its channel partners ? The first step that we need to take is to analyse what are the segmentations of the market. There are three pricing segments as said in the case: premium, standard and value. These segments differentiate the basic consumers; we then have DIYers and developers that have specific standards. We will analyse the aquastream, the gainsborough, the aquastyle and the aquavalve, and the quartz. Channel DIY outlet Consultant’s Advice Decision Criteria Customer Segment DIYers Customer Values Price Convenience Style Performance Service Price Convenience Reliability Style Price Quartz -++ ++ ++ ++ -++ ++ ++ -Gainsborough Aquavalve Aquastyle ++ / -+ ++ + / ++ -/ + + -+ / ++ -+ ++ + + ++ Aquastream -/ ++ + -/ -- Showrooms ACQUALISA Premium Trade Shops Plumber’s advice Standard Value Specialist Contract Habit & Relations Developers The products show great differences in their characteristics in addressing customer’s preferences. They are targeting different segments and thus they don’t create value thanks to the same advantages In addition to the table, we can stress one of the preferences of the plumbers that is of importance. The installation time sensitivity. Indeed, as said in the case, the main issue is the reluctance of plumbers towards electronical...
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...AQUALISA QUARTZ: SIMPLY A BETTER SHOWER by Nir Ilani-Freedman Situation analysis (Q1) a. Customers Segmenting and characteristics Premium price segment- consumers typically shop in showrooms. Preferred specs: high performance and service. Style determined selection. Granted high performance and service. Standard price range: Emphasize service and performance. Product selection Rely on independent plumbers’ recommendations. Value segment: Primary concerned with convenience and price. Liked to avoid solution that required any excavation. Product selection relies on independent plumbers’ recommendations. DIY market- Primarily interested in inexpensive, easy to install models. Electric showers were the overwhelming choice in this segment. Shopped at large retail outlets. Popular among landlords & apartment dwellers. Property developer market: Preferred reliable nice looking products that could work in multiple settings, price sensitive, did not invest in premium valves. Used independent plumbers to install their selected products. b. Channels of distribution: Products sold, primary customers, channel characteristics Trade shops: Carried products across all available brands. Mainly sold to plumbers that worked for developers, contractors or directly to consumers. Their focus was to have right stock of products in demand. Their customers are looking for reliable product availability more than technical advice. Aqualisa brand was available in about 40% of trade shops...
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...Organic Farming Visit Date: ___________________________ Section 1: Aim The aim of this site visit is to learn about - The use of a greenhouse in agriculture - The importance of biological pest control in agriculture - The use of fertilizers in agriculture - The features of the Maltese soil - The use of good agricultural practices such as crop rotation Section 2: Observations and Data Collection This section will be like a long discussion. You need to include photographs taken on the visit. Paragraph 1: The greenhouse Take a photograph of the greenhouse visited. Describe the main features of the greenhouse visited during this site visit. List down the crops grown in the greenhouse you have visited. Do some research about other crops that are commonly grown in a greenhouse in Malta. Discuss THREE advantages of using a greenhouse to grow crops Discuss THREE disadvantages of using a greenhouse to grow crops Biology Site visit Form 4 Page 1 Organic Farming Visit Paragraph 2: Biological pest control Give the definition of biological pest control. Ask the visitor about the typical pests targeted in the greenhouses visited. List them down. Explain which organisms are used to control the spread of the mentioned pests Discuss THREE advantages of using biological pest control Discuss THREE disadvantages of using biological pest control Paragraph 3: Fertilizers Discuss the importance of fertilizers in agriculture Discuss any deficiency...
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...SECTION 2. HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION Emergency Overview Form Color Odor Hazard Summary : Balls, pellets or tower packing : off-white : none : Repeated or prolonged exposure may irritate eyes, skin and respiratory system. Repeated and prolonged inhalation of crystalline silica in the form of quartz from occupational sources may cause cancer. Potential Health Effects Skin : Prolonged skin contact may cause skin irritation. Page 1 / 16 SAFETY DATA SHEET 3/4" SUPPORT MATERIAL F89393 Version 1.0 Revision Date 11/03/2012 Print Date 02/20/2013 Eyes Ingestion Inhalation : Repeated or prolonged exposure may cause eye irritation. : The product is considered to have a low order of oral toxicity. : Exposure to dust particles generated from this material may cause irritation of the respiratory tract. Repeated and prolonged inhalation of crystalline silica in the form of quartz from occupational sources may cause cancer. : Prolonged or repeated inhalation may cause lung injury/cancer. : Contact with skin and eyes. Exposure may also occur via inhalation or ingestion if product dust is generated. Chronic Exposure Primary Routes of Entry Carcinogenicity NTP: Quartz (SiO2) Known carcinogen. Quartz (SiO2) 1: Human carcinogen. 14808-60-7 IARC: 14808-60-7 Titanium dioxide...
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