Encyclopedia Britannica: Marketing Analysis-Term Case Report
Encyclopedia Britannica: Marketing Analysis-Term Case Report
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary II. History of the Company’s digital/internet era III. Competition IV. Analysis V. Recommendations
I. Executive Summary:
Encyclopedia Britannica is one of the oldest, well known brands in the world. The Encyclopedia Britannica was first published in 1768. Encyclopedia Britannica was the leader in the Encyclopedia industry for over 200 years and established a strong hold in the marketplace for its encyclopedias world-wide. The information industry struck Encyclopedia Britannica hard in the early 1990’s and Encyclopedia Britannica struggled to develop its own niche within this new marketplace
The company got on board with the internet and CD-Rom much later than its competitors which caused them to lose crucial ground and market share. Encyclopedia Britannica offers its printed books, CD-ROMS and other printed materials for sale via the Internet, but face uphill challenges with rivals such as Wikipedia and the unlimited amount of free information allowed through the world-wide web. I. History of the Company’s digital/internet era (1990’s-Present)
In the early 1990’s, sales of Encyclopedia Britannica sets fell and this brought increasing competition from CD-ROM encyclopedia versions, such as Microsoft’s Encarta. During 1993, Britannica launched a subscription version of the encyclopedias for institutional users only. In 1994 Encyclopedia Britannica's sales were reported at $453 million, with only some 51,000 bound sets sold in the United States. Also during the same year, Encyclopedia Britannica sold its Compton's division to The Tribune Company.
In 1996 Jacob Safra purchased Encyclopedia Britannica for 135 million dollars, which was half the estimated value. The home sales force was terminated along with 140 additional employees. Encyclopedia attempted was made to sell encyclopedia sets through bookstores, with a cheaper
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary II. History of the Company’s digital/internet era III. Competition IV. Analysis V. Recommendations
I. Executive Summary:
Encyclopedia Britannica is one of the oldest, well known brands in the world. The Encyclopedia Britannica was first published in 1768. Encyclopedia Britannica was the leader in the Encyclopedia industry for over 200 years and established a strong hold in the marketplace for its encyclopedias world-wide. The information industry struck Encyclopedia Britannica hard in the early 1990’s and Encyclopedia Britannica struggled to develop its own niche within this new marketplace
The company got on board with the internet and CD-Rom much later than its competitors which caused them to lose crucial ground and market share. Encyclopedia Britannica offers its printed books, CD-ROMS and other printed materials for sale via the Internet, but face uphill challenges with rivals such as Wikipedia and the unlimited amount of free information allowed through the world-wide web. I. History of the Company’s digital/internet era (1990’s-Present)
In the early 1990’s, sales of Encyclopedia Britannica sets fell and this brought increasing competition from CD-ROM encyclopedia versions, such as Microsoft’s Encarta. During 1993, Britannica launched a subscription version of the encyclopedias for institutional users only. In 1994 Encyclopedia Britannica's sales were reported at $453 million, with only some 51,000 bound sets sold in the United States. Also during the same year, Encyclopedia Britannica sold its Compton's division to The Tribune Company.
In 1996 Jacob Safra purchased Encyclopedia Britannica for 135 million dollars, which was half the estimated value. The home sales force was terminated along with 140 additional employees. Encyclopedia attempted was made to sell encyclopedia sets through bookstores, with a cheaper