After the grand opening of Range Rover in North America (later renamed as Land Rover North America) in April 1986, the subsidiary experienced drastic changes including product expansion and the introduction of a new retail strategy as the business grew with prosperous potential. Specifically, after successful sales of the original Range Rover model, the company decided to undertake the manufacturing of the Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Discovery, and Range Rover 4.0 SE to suit different audience’s needs, and decided to adopt the more general cooperate brand name - Land Rover to accommodate the variety and versatility of automobile models the company planned on selling. Moreover, the discovery of customers unsatisfied about their automobile …show more content…
In addition, the company’s CEO, Charles Hughes, was in a dilemma choosing between maintaining previous marketing mix spending and possibly running a deficit, and reallocating funds and partially losing the company’s public impact. Meanwhile, another problem emerged as there was conflict between Hughes and retail partners on whether existing stores should be converted to free-standing centres. Although it seems that LRNA was confronted with various difficult situations, in this case, I will focus on the company’s main and most significant issue, which is determining whether to stick to the originally proposed dual positioning – a combination of “the definitive family” and “a logical evolution of the legendary Land Rover”, or to design a new positioning strategy according to competition and consumers’ needs. Additionally, I will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Centre stores …show more content…
Looking at the results, Land Rover Discovery scored the highest rating for the quality category among all competitors, with a 7.4. This finding supports the fact that Discovery is of outstanding quality and this superiority was well realized by customers, further suggesting that not only does Discovery prove the best quality, but also the delivery of a high-quality image to the consumers was successful. Moreover, Discovery’s safety and off-road capability were also the highest, outlining a very optimistic consumer perception. Notwithstanding, the model exhibited a lack of support for creature comfort. In terms of aesthetics, comfort/convenient and status image, the ratings were just around average. Overall, the rating for Land Rover Discovery was fairly high, illustrating the model’s high competence, adequacy and decency. However, the merely mediocre competitiveness of artistic design was probably insufficient for the product to stand out exclusively in the luxurious SUV industry, in which other prestigious brands managed to offer more classiness and comforts. Compared to the Range Rover, Discovery scored slightly lower, by 0.1 point, in the performance and status/image categories. This observation is confusing because the Discovery was tailored to be an “upgrade”
Considering 4 elements of the marketing mix and the case discussion of the general trends in the industry, it seems that MCB is experiencing problem with place and determining its target market. The case provides many examples of the company's difficulties in gaining more retail locations, maintaining sufficient inventory level, and, the most important, improper positioning of its product, which impeded the MCB to reach its potential customers.
Lowe’s grew through strategic choice by heavily focusing on key functional areas involving research and development (R&D), marketing, and logistics. Lowe’s important R&D investments included the creation of two prototype stores. The first prototype with 147,000 square feet catered to large markets and the other with 120,000 square feet catered to smaller markets (Rouse, 2005). Lowe’s used these store prototypes to help guide their continued growth and store placement. The prototypes also aided the company in designing future stores more efficiently with respect to energy and sustainability (Lowe’s Companies, Inc., n.d.). Furthermore, Lowe’s marketing strategy concentrated on attracting new customers and enhancing current customer satisfaction. To bring new customers to the store, Lowe’s engaged in a pull marketing strategy (Wheelen & Hunger, 2012). The com...
The Italian Centre Shop shows many attributes as for how they are able to build on their strengths. This in the end helps a company to expand and grow further to improve their internal performance and as well by gaining more consumers (Kerin, et al., 2015). Firstly, the company’s main strength relies on the location of the different branches, being placed strategically so it is easier to bring in more consumers as well as being easily accessible for people around those areas. Two of the three locations in Edmonton are situated beside shopping centers, Southgate mall and West Edmonton mall, which in the West end is the most popular attraction of the city. The third branch is located in North Edmonton which is known for the heart of “Little Italy”(Spinelli, 2016). Secondly, the Italian Centre Shop sells a variety of merchandise and different cuisine from all around the world, the main place being Italy and others which include: Spain, Romania, Portugal, Ukraine and Poland (Spinelli, 2016). This helps to expand the company’s target market while still keeping
There were and are many opportunities for CarMax to continue to grow its business. According to the case, CarMax has been already planned for next few years; entering 50 to 100 smaller markets with a ‘next-generation store’
“The Miles and Snow’s typology is based on the idea that managers seek to formulate strategies that will be congruent with the external environment” (64). There are four types of strategies that can be established under this typology that is, the prospector, the defender, the analyzer and the reactor. While prospector is innovative and risky, the defender is conservative and concerned with stability. I have mentioned above that HBC is now able to compete with premium brands retailer due to an acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue, and yet they are not utilizing low-cost leadership as their main competitive strategy. Nonetheless, Daft and Armstrong showcases a perfect example of the defender positioning using HBC’s case. “HBC has carefully monitored its margins and spending, maintained its discount brand (Zellers) in order to successfully compete with Walmart, and survived as one of Canada’s only two national department store” (65). Then they further describe how HBC refurbish its brand, “HBC hired Bonnie Brooks in 2008 to revamp its brand”, “She dropped many underperforming product lines and brought in trendy product lines such as Coach and Top Shop” (65). This explanation also supports my
LRNA needs to determine a positioning strategy for the Discovery and itself in North America to entice its two distinct target markets. LRNA is aware that it has two distinct target markets whose purchasing decisions are impacted by various drivers but also knows that factors such as quality, safety, reliability, comfort, off-road capability and aesthetics overlap. When compared with other SUVs or SUV alternatives, we believe the following differences should be highlighted to develop a distinctive niche for the Discovery and Land Rover brand in the target audience’s mind. The Discovery and Land Rover brand should be positioned as luxury car alternatives with rich histories and superb off-road capabilities designed for the crème-de-la-crème of consumers: affluent, intelligent, practical, unique, full of character, and seeking to empower themselves through adventure and exploration during their driving experiences. The Discovery and Land Rover brand should, in effect, convey the following message: you are what you drive.
The world of technology is ever changing and advancing. With the automotive industry in play technology is constantly surpassing what is available today with what can be done for tomorrow. Technology and the automotive industry go hand in hand with constant improvement to components of cars. Due to technology advancement there is competition within the car industry, especially between American car companies and European car companies. European car companies provide their buyers with innovative variety and revolutionary luxuries. European car technology is superior to American car technology due to their safety, entertainment, and luxury features.
When the Tesla Model S was first released, Consumer Reports named the Electric Vehicle (EV) the most remarkable auto ever tested. The consumer protection publication; that has been looking out for their readers since 1936; said that the Flagship vehicle from Elon Musk’s Motor Company, was essentially flawless. Its performance on the track and in safety testing was second to none. However, due to a drop in quality class; from average to below; the Tesla Model S has been removed from Consumer Reports’ Recommended List.
Ron Johnson spent a great deal of time and money to promote his ideas of “stores-within-stores” by turning floor space into an area to house several branded boutiques. He did this in order to attract a target market of a wider demographic which includes age, gender, and generation. One of the m...
Research and design and innovation play a huge role in this strategy, in which Toyota already has an advantage due to their successes. Toyota has numerous research and development facilities across the globe. Some of their focuses are on vehicle engineering and evaluation, interior and exterior design, advanced design, advanced engineering, product planning, and evaluation basic research. These functions are performed at more than one location, which allows for more broadened creativity from around the world.
Another strategy used by BMW to differentiate itself from other automakers in the market is the proactive usage of technology and innovativeness in the development of products. From the early 1990’s, BMW has been on the forefront of incorporating technology in its designs in line with the technological advances of the modern world. This has led to the creation of inventive products. The uniqueness of these auto products put BMW in a position of advantage. The development of the hydrogen car as early as 2000 was an indicator of the company’s innovative strategy. In addition, the company also presents itself as environment friendly creating a whole range of vehicles in this category. This is a differentiation strategy meant to boost the company’s image and reputation amongst customers. In addition, this gives the environment conscious customers a variety of products to choose from giving BMW an upper hand in the industry.
This report will discuss about how external environment affects Harrods’s modus-operandi and the appropriate marketing strategies that they have to apply in the future.
One of the very first things a buyer should consider when looking for a car is what kind of car he/she wants. Many different factors can affect the car buying process. For one, the buyer must consider how big of a vehicle he/she wants and safety features like airbags, seatbelts, and working brakes. Itemizing a list of accessories can also help narrow down what kind of car to buy. While some people might prefer a Sedan with a large back seat and seat warmers, others may prefer an extreme luxury car with full stereo systems and miniature televisions. Every person has different tastes in accessories; luckily, there is a vehicle that can fit almost every personality. Most new models have the latest technology installed, although some of the “newer” used cars have the option of adding in those accessories. Once the...
In an unpredictable market customer perception is often the most viable source of information. It is difficult to directly benchmark the CAR prototype against other market offerings and therefore a value based approach could provide a better understanding of the price ceiling. Andy and Marc point out that value-informed pricing techniques are superior for products with a high relative advantage. With the current climate debate heating up, the CAR’s zero harmful emissions and low fuel costs boost its competitive advantage over petrol based cars. Yet risk per se cannot simply be av...
When analyzing an organization’s target market, the first step is to understand the business and what they hope to achieve through their marketing strategies. Targeting and positioning strategies consist of analyzing and identifying segments within a given product-market, choosing which segment or segments to target, and developing and implementing a positioning strategy for each targeted segment (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). The company’s target market determines what customer group or groups the company wants to serve (Cravens & Piercy, 2009). Analyzing IKEA’s target market allows the company to determine if their marketing strategies have successfully targeted their intended customer group or groups. Discussing the company’s positioning strategy helps determine if the strategy is effective or if the company must make improvements strengthen their positioning strategy. The company must determine if their targeting and positioning strategies may be lacking. If the company’s targeting and positioning strategies are lacking, the company must determine what they must do to strengthen their targeting and positioning strategies.