This document analyses the UK shower industry, value proposition of Quartz-Aqualisa's revolutionary shower, marketing strategies employed by Aqualisa and suggests ways to make them more effective.

Authors Avatar


Introduction

This document analyses the UK shower industry, value proposition of Quartz-Aqualisa's revolutionary shower, marketing strategies employed by Aqualisa and suggests ways to make them more effective.

The UK Shower Market - Product Offers and the Customer Behaviour

The current market size of all different kinds of showers offered in UK was more than 1.8 million units valuing more than €5 Billion. Only 60% of the bathrooms in UK had a shower whereas all bathrooms had a bathtub.

Prevalent problems in plumbing systems and showers

The plumbing in UK was predominantly of the Victorian era. These systems were gravity fed which resulted in non uniform pressure and flow resulting in temperature fluctuations. The flow rates were around 3-4 litres per minute against the standard flow rates of 18 litres per minute in the USA. Also the showers broke down frequently and were difficult to repair as the seals used to get jammed and needed replacement. The replacement of the broken/worn down showers accounted for nearly 50% market.

The users were having poor knowledge about the showers, available brands and options. These problems influenced the UK shower market and therefore shaped the consumer behaviour and the products available in the market.

Market Segments

The shower market can be broadly segmented in two categories - User and Non-Users. Refer Appendix Exhibit 1.

USERS

Premium users looked for style, performance, service and life.

Standard users looked for performance, life and service of the shower.

Value users looked for price, convenience and models that did not require major excavation and modifications in their bathrooms.

NON-USERS

Plumbers: Plumbers interacted through variety of ways with the end users- directly or indirectly.  They maintained strong relationships with the manufacturers of the showers.  They played a key role in the sale of the showers.

Developers : They were the property developers in the UK. They preferred reliable showers which could work under multiple settings. They were price sensitive. They had direct contacts with the manufacturers or depended on the independent plumbers.

DIY:  These are large retail outlets which targeted customers who are primarily looking for ease of installation and inexpensive models. There were substantial sales taking place through this channel. 

Different Models and the Product Offers

Based on the problems that existed,  the market segmentation and the factors influencing decision making, three main types of showers were available in the market - Electric Showers, Mixer Showers and the Power Showers. They were targeted at different market segments under different brand names by manufactures.

Quartz Value Proposition

There will be two Value Propositions Statements based on the market segmentation - one for Users and the other one for Non Users. Refer Appendix Exhibit 3

It is considered that the Quartz Showers will be chosen over the competitive Mixer and the Power Showers. This is because of-

Superior Design: Quartz range was designed to overcome the limitations of the Mixer and Power Showers, therefore in long term they will replace them completely.

Current market share: Aqualisa has only 20 % and 16.7% of the current market share in the mixer showers and the power showers category. It is ranked 2nd and 5th respectively in these two categories. These two sectors offer the maximum growth potential and possibility of capturing new market share.

Total costs:  The initial cost of the Quartz showers are higher than both the Mixer Shower and the Power Showers, however installation of Mixer Showers require additional expenditure. It needs 2 man-days of the plumber which costs atleast 640€ (considering €40 per hour and 8 hours per day). Additionally, the plumbers charge the cost of excavation- labour and materials extra. Therefore the total costs of ownership of Quartz Standard showers turn out to be cheaper.

Join now!

Multiple Brand Strategy: Gainsborough, Aqualisa and ShowerMax

Based on the market segmentation shown above, Aqualisa uses three different brands to position and serve its target markets optimally.

 The use of different brands is a positioning policy so that Aqualisa can determine its  Marketing Mix for each target market segment in order to occupy a clear, distinctive and attractive position in the minds of the consumers relative to the competing brands and products. It is made clear from the figure below that the three different brands (shown by different colours) have three different products, price range, promotional channels and distribution channels.  

...

This is a preview of the whole essay