Gillette Safety Razor Division (SRD) would be foolish to not enter the cassette market at this time in the game. With the established and well-trusted brand name on it’s side, Gillette will be able to exploit the undeveloped marketed to it’s fullest potential. The way that Gillette can accomplish this is by utilizing some of it’s biggest and strongest assets to overcome what the consultants believe are the three major problems in the industry: (1) oversized cassette cases, (2) poor internal construction, and (3) inferior quality tape resulting in poor recordings.
First, Gillette will make use of its expertise in high-volume manufacturing of plastic products to improve the sizing of the cassette casings as well as enhance the internal construction. This will help to increase the reliability of the Gillette Cassette. Secondly, by using the brand name Gillette, it will be easy for SRD to contract with high quality, reliable suppliers for the components and materials required to produce a high-grade product. Having the best components and materials will result in a cassette with excellent recording abilities. Lastly, Gillette will utilize its proficiency in marketing mass-distributed packaged goods. Due to the fact that leading brands have done minimal advertising and limited distribution, it is critical for Gillette to execute proficient marketing to increase their initial market share.
By focusing its distribution channel solely on department and discount stores (where 40% of cassette unit sales are made), Gillette will be able to maximize it’s sales force potential. In addition, by emphasizing it’s marketing campaign towards the low-income college student segment Gillette will inevitably tap into a large portion of the cassette market share. Roughly 30% of the US population ages 0-29 are cassette owners with 26.5% making less than $9,000 a year.
2. What quantitative analyses can you provide to help