Challenges Facing Goodyear

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Challenges Facing Goodyear

Problem Statement

There are several challenges facing Goodyear in the current

environment. Our sales have leveled off in the past few years and we

need to increase our market share in order to improve these numbers.

Our debt is high and our interest payments are eating away at our

profiles so we need to get more income to pay down this debt. The

more immediate question is if Goodyear should launch its new line of

Aquatred tires. The trend has been toward higher mileage tires and

the Aquatred tire is not in line with this trend, being more of a

higher end tire. Additionally, if we do determine that we are going

to launch the Aquatred, do we start the advertising during the

Olympics when we don’t have all the tire sizes available? We are also

determining if remaining with our current distribution channel is the

best approach or if we need to expand the way our tires get to

market. If we decide that we are going to expand our distribution

channels, we then have to determine which tires, we are going to offer

in the new channels. Finally, our market share in the replacement

market is lacking not sure this is true, and since consumers feel that

buying tires is a necessity we have to find a way to make them excited

about purchasing our product. Goodyear used to be considered the

Gorilla in tire producers, but with increased competition in recent

years, that is not longer the case.

Issues:

Consumer model and expectations

Essentially, consumers fall into 4 basic segments.

§ There are Price-constrained buyers who buy the best brand they can

afford. They do not show any loyalty toward any brand and tend to

shop around for tires so we would have to get our tired in front of

them and be the best priced.

§ There are the Value-oriented buyers that shop around a lot to get

the best price, but would generally buy major brands only so we would

probably be able to capture this buyer because of our brand name, but

we would need competitive pricing.

§ There are the Quality buyers who were loyal to the outlet and the

brand of tire. These consumers were generally upscale and are going

to be our main target audience and the challenge here would be to get

the tire to the outlet that the consumer is comfortable buying at and

communicating the difference in our tire verses our competitors.

§ Finall...

... middle of paper ...

... and concern was put forth by the company to

try to make tires as safe as possible. This is a positive spin on the

company as a whole, which should translate to higher sales for our

other tire products.

In conclusion, we have a unique opportunity to take advantage of a

niche market that is as of yet untapped. We have already purchased

advertising time at the Olympics for which we are going introduce our

new Aquatred tire, as well as promote Goodyear’s continuing quest for

safety and quality. We are going to open up new distribution channels

for our lower end tires so as to increase market share in these areas,

while ensuring that our independent dealers sales are respected and

promoted as much as possible. This is a very exciting time for

Goodyear and the Aquatred tire. A little long, but I like your plan of

action.

Most important attributes for consumers when purchasing a new tire:

1. Tread Life

2. Wet Traction

3. Handling

4. Snow traction

5. Dry traction

US market for Passenger Tires

Replacement OEM Total

Industry 152.0 43 195

Goodyear 22.8 16.3 39.1

Goodyear’s percent 15% 38% 20%

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