PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Email: smu.assignment@gmail.com

Mob: +919741410271 / +918722788493

Q.1) Solve the following case and answer the questions:

ABC Cars surprised industry watchers by coming out an all new XYZ with complete makeover & price cuts. The new XYZ is made available in 4 models. The company’s move was prompted by various factors. The car was placed in the mid-sized & luxury car segment & held approximately 12% of the total passenger car market share. Other company’s cars were in either in lower end mid-sized car segment & the higher end segment. XYZ filled the gap by positioning its car between the segments. It had more features & a better design then the low-end cars & a lesser price than the high-end offerings.

However, this segment at present is witnessing rapid changes. The car model in this segment has increased from 10 models in 2006 to as many as 16 models in 2008. New entrants at the lower end are offering XYZ’s key features style & power. It is difficult for XYZ to justify its premium pricing when the same features are available at lower prices in the other models. This reflected the market shares during 2008 & has weakened the positioning of XYZ.

This made the company review its marketing mix for XYZ. It felt that the lower end has good potential. It is aiming at the upgraders to widen their customer base & increase volumes. Therefore the company has reduced the price in line with the lower end models. The engine & the car have been completely remodeled with higher fuel efficiency. The car design has made slicker to keep up with changing customer preferences.

Questions:

1) State the facts of the case?

2) Examine the reasons behind ABC Cars move to re-launch its highly successful XYZ model with complete makeover & price cut of as much as Rs. 1 lakh?

3) Do you think the company’s move to re-position the car on fuel efficiency & price platform will work?

Q.2) Solve the following case study:

Mr. Kamat of ABC industries is contemplating entering the men’s top end shirts category. The company already has a brand “CLINGERS” in the middle segment (Rs.350-700). The brand is very popular amongst the target audience. Having got the volumes, Mr. Kamat now wants to play the value game and enter the top end(Rs.700+) category. He knows there are some formidable brands like Farow etc., that will make life extremely difficult for ABC industries. But there are certain advantages which ABC industries enjoy. It has one of the best retail networks in the country. They have their own factory, which ensures regular quality supply. They are the pioneers of branded shirts in India.

Mr. Kamat has decided to keep the brand name as “Clingers Gold”. He has decided to allocate Rs. 10 crores for sales promotion and advertising budget.

ABC industries is simultaneously entering the ready made trousers market and shoes market. Mr. Kamat has decided to keep the same brand name “CLINGERS” to leverage the success of the brand name to the two new categories.

Questions:

1) State the Summary of the case?

2) Do you think the brand name “Clingers Gold” is right for the top end segment? Justify your answer?

3) What are the pros and cons of leveraging successful brand name to other categories?

Q.3) Solve the following case study:

PQR is a leading FMCG company. The company is mainly into soaps & detergents, its products Binco, Mrs White & Gril are popular brands.

PQR has decided to concentrate on following brands – Binco, a premium detergent powder competing with Nariel & Ulta; Mrs. White a detergent powder in the economy range; Gril a premium dish wash liquid cleaner; and Targo, and Ba brands in the cosmetic product range. The company aims to be the top three in each of the segments.

As a part of its restructuring efforts the company launched a bar variant of its popular liquid dish wash Gril. Analysts point out that powder category is stagnating & the liquid cleaner segment is limited to higher end consumers & may take time to penetrate the market.

The company officials say that the bar category is now the growth area in the dish wash product segment. There are only few players like Bim & Mirma in this product category. The company is positioning the product on the platform of a unique cleaning formula enhanced with vinegar grease remover. The product is priced at Rs. 20 for a bar of 500 gram bar available in lime & orange variants.

Ba is another product in the company’s product portfolio. It enjoys a good brand image due to its global presence & its presence in the Indian gray market. Though the deodorant has clicked well in the market, Ba soap & talcum powder have not performed well in the market. The company is planning to re-launch the brand by changing its formula, packaging & communication. The company wants to make the brand available across the country. Another prime product, which the company has, is Targo. These include talcum powder, cold cream & body lotion

The company also wants reposition its brand Binko & Mrs. White.

Questions:

1) Analyze the facts of the case?

2) Analyze the product decisions taken by PQR?

3) Comment on the company’s decision to launch the bar variant of its highly successful Gril Liquid dish cleaner?

Q.4) Solve the following case study:

Vishal Bharat Tea Company is a tea processing company operating in India since 1990 and has growing tea processing and marketing business. Mr. Atul Rao, MBA is a dynamic and dashing executive working as General Manager (Product Development) of the company since June 2000. The Company has introduced new tea products to cater to the growing and changing needs of tea drinkers from different parts of India. Mr. Rao traveled extensively to feel the pulse of different segments of tea drinkers. He noticed that many tea drinkers need fresh tea easily and quickly at any time of the day and that too without disturbing others (family members, office staff, etc. ). Mr. Rao noted this problem of tea drinkers. In fact, he himself was facing this problem at his residence and also in the luxury hotels during his tours.

Mr. Rao’s scientific mind started to analyse this problem in depth and his company soon decided to introduce a product i.e tea tablets, developed by R & D department of the company. The R & D department conducted different experiments as regards colour, size, flavour, etc. of the new tea tablets. Finally, these tablets were so designed that one tablet added to hot water would produce a fresh cup of tea easily and quickly. The company decided to launch its tea tablets on 1st January, 2005.

Questions:

1) Do you feel that new product of the company is promising from the marketing point of view?

2) Suggest appropriate marketing mix for tea tablets?

3) Indicate consumer segments most suitable for tea tablets?

4) What should be the price of tea tablets?

5) Give your suggestions in regard to packaging, advertising and extensive distribution throughout India?