Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PGP - I
Term - I
AY 2017-18
MARKETING MANAGEMENT I
Section: C
Group: 16
Case Analysis: AQUALISA QUARTZ
Group Members:-
ARNAB KUMAR DAS (2017PGP069)
ISHEE VATSALA (2017PGP140)
VISHESH SINGH (2017PGP424)
SHUBHAM BHAWSAR (IPM2014091)
Statement of the Problem
Aqualisa is a UK based shower manufacturer and Harry Rawlinson is the managing director
of the company. Aqualisa have recently launched Quartz shower which despite being the
latest innovation in the shower market and better than its competitors is not selling.
Rawlinsons problem is to understand the reason for the same and work out a shift in
Aqualisas marketing strategy to maximize its sales.
The UK shower market was plagued by several incidents over a long period of time that have
contributed to several perceptions that are hampering Aqualisa Quartzs sales. Some of these
instances are:
Based on the information presented to us in the case, there are several possible strategies that
Aqualisa can adopt to try and help increase sales. Some of the options that Aqualisa has,
include:
Directly targeting customers: Aqualisa has faced difficulty in convincing the plumbers
of its products efficacy and they have the example of Triton which has succeeded in
building brand awareness at the consumer level. Therefore, they can consider going
for this strategy but the disadvantage of this method is that there are extremely high
costs associated with it (an entire campaign would cost about 3-4 million when the
companys net income is 17 million).
Targeting Developers: There are two main advantages associated with targeting this
segment. The first advantage is that the company can sell a lot of showers in one go.
Secondly, the plumbers would get used to installing Quartz showers because the
developers would make them do so. But the disadvantage would be that it would be a
long gap between the installation and when the end-consumers would actually use the
showers, wiping out Quartzs first mover advantage. One issue also was that
developers were reluctant to buy Aqualisa products because they considered their
products to be of premium category.
Targeting Plumbers: Given that the shower market is one where the customers are
heavily dependent on the plumbers for advice on making the right choice as well as
further installation and maintenance, Aqualisa can target the plumbers directly.
Based on the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of the alternative solutions,
we would suggest that Aqualisa directly target the plumbers. The main reason behind this
recommended solution is that the customers are highly dependent on the plumbers for
selecting and installing the right type and brand of the shower. We would like to cite
instances from the case to support our argument.
From Exhibit 4 (Shower Selection for Mixer Shower), we can observe that 28%
consumers take the plumbers advice on the type and brand of shower to buy, and
25% consumers let the plumbers select the type and brand of shower (without
consultation with the customer). This clearly shows that more than 50% of the
purchase decisions in the shower market are influenced by the plumbers.
From Exhibit 5 (UK Shower Market, by Installation Method), we can observe that
54% of the shower installations are done by independent plumbers. Given that
Aqualisa Quartz takes very less time to install as compared to other showers in the
market, plumbers can install more number of showers in the same amount of time and
thus earn more.
Looking at the advertisement given in Exhibit 9, we can observe that no emphasis is
made on the user-friendliness
friendliness and ease of installation of the product. A shift in
advertising strategy like redesigning the poster is required to effectively communicate
the advantages to both customers and plumbers.
Given the combination of above given factors, a shift in advertising strategy warrants that
Aqualisa try to educate plumbers about the various innovations of their product and convince
them that the Quartz is the right choice for them. Highlighting the eas
easee of use of Quartz and
communicating the financial benefits of doing Quartz installations to the plumbers effectively
would help Aqualisa improve its sales.
6% Installation by Independent
20% Plumber
Developer Installation for New
54% Home Build
20% Installation by Showroom
Commercial Installation
Source: Aqualisa