Lancer Gallery Case Summary

529 Words2 Pages

Lancer Gallery is a limited liability company that sources and sells a wide variety of South American and African artifacts. The firm’s headquarters are located in Phoenix, Arizona and they also have branch offices in Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston. Lancer Gallery originated as a trading post operation near Tucson, Arizona in the early 1900’s. Through a series of judicious decisions the company established itself as one of the more reputable dealers in authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery. The main problem in this case is should Lancer Gallery’s top management accept or decline a contract that could potentially re-position their brand and definition of business. The acceptance or rejection of this contract is a problem because on one hand the acceptance could mean more money (which the company needs due to slowed revenue growth from the recession), but on the other hand the contract could hurt the brands carefully considered image indefinitely. The contract proposed an increase of 4 million in additional sales, but would also require Lancer Gallery to triple its replica production to meet the stated demands. In the past Lancer Gallery had made some exceptions to produce replicas through long-term contracts with native craftspeople in Central America. …show more content…

Lancer’s national sales manager, Myron Rangard, identified changing consumer preferences from modern/abstract décor to more concrete items. This increase in demand for replicas changed the market, and left the door open for more competitors and bottom feeders. David Olsen, director of procurement, noted that over a decade ago Lancer only had about 5 competitors, today it has 11. As well as serious competition, Lancer also has to combat amateur sellers and “fly-by-night” competitors. These individuals move into a new city and dump a bunch of inauthentic junk on the market at exorbitant

Open Document