2. Product Description:
We propose the company focus on the continued development of its most famous product line of Pilot Watches that will be made available and attractive to several new segments of customers. This is the result of thinking through our total product offer.
Nickels, McHugh & McHugh (2009, pg378) describe total product offer consisting everything that customer evaluate when deciding whether to buy something, even comparing other product offers on different dimensions and attributes.
Our iconic pilot watches will remain faithful to its original design but will house affordable and yet reliable Japanese watch movements.
Illustrated below are the proposed Pilot watch models made popular in the 1940s:
3. Innovation Justification & Value Creation:
(Define Innovation and Value Creation)
After performing market research (define) and gathering feedback from a sample of respondents, the following established reasons seek to justify our proposal and reflect the value creation to current and new markets:
- The current range of Laco pilot watches is deemed to be too expensive, too small, or too massive by collectors.
- Furthermore, purists and beginners alike are more akin to pilot watches without branding on the watch dial, yet are aware of our pedigree in watch production.
- A surge in watch collecting trends emerged amongst young adult and middle-aged consumers who favor military inspired watches, seeking iconic designs and value.
- The global economic downturn reflects that watch collectors will become more prudent with choices, more selective in their buying behavior and more value-seeking.
Thus, we propose a downward stretch (define) in the re-production of the iconic watches with the following specifications:
- Dial Size: 42mm
- Dial face: Sterile
- Movement: Automatic, Japanese Miyota movement
- Casing: Stainless Steel, PVD-coated & Sand-blasted versions
Value Creation to collectors:
- Affordable iteration of an iconic design
- Durable and reliable watch movement
- Belonging to a brand of exclusive heritage of the Five watch manufacturers
- Appeal to both aficionados and novice collectors either enhancing their collection or starting out their collections
5. Target Market Segments & Product Fit
A product can only be perceived by customers as valuable and innovative when the right groups are targeted. As such, the rise of value conscious watch collectors from Asian markets such as India, Singapore, Hong-Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia will form the bulk of our new target customers whose profile will be discussed further into the marketing plan.
Such collectors tend to male, budget conscious working professionals that lead sporty lifestyles or live a sedentary existence, spend about US$1,000-10,000 on watch collection and are interested in time-pieces that have historical relevance.
6. Conclusion
This new marketing direction for Lacher Pty Ltd marks the first step in the process of positioning our company as the Swatch brand of Germany. More details will be unveiled in the Marketing Plan pending approval.
References:
Textbooks:
Nickels, W, McHugh, J & McHugh, S, 2009, Understanding Business: International 8th edn, McGraw-Hill, Singapore
Websites :