Comprehensive Study of the Laptop Industry, Marketing Management
Executive Summary
“The sales of notebook PCs grew at 46.4 percent QoQ, crossing the seven lakh mark in a single quarter, for the first time”1 The above statement is one that fills the laptop industry, as also the entire electronics industry, with hope and optimism for the future. In the last year (2008), the laptop sales in India doubled.2 This makes the laptop market a lucrative industry indeed in India. The potential for growth in this industry is immense, as shown by the growth figures stated above. And due to the presence of multiple growth opportunities, this industry is burgeoning ahead without looking back or halting. Though the growth potential in the laptop market is tremendous, so is the competition. In this market their exist at least 6 major players: HP, Lenovo, Dell, Sony VAIO, Acer and HCL; as also many smaller but niche players like Toshiba, Panasonic and Apple. This tremendous competition has led to a mad scramble for a larger portion of this ever-growing pie, i.e., the laptop industry. In this attempt to increase one’s market share, each company has come out with innovative strategies to attract more customers. The purpose of this project is to compare the major players in laptop market vis-a-vis their strength, weakness, opportunities and threats, talk about their marketing strategy using different methods of analysis like the STP, 4P and 5C and finally to identify the Product Lifecycle of laptop generically and of each product separately. On the basis of our studies we drew some conclusion regarding the target of each company. For example, companies like Lenovo, Dell and HP offered products to the entire range of customers, ranging from the premium segment to the entry level customers. Companies like HCL and Acer primarily dealt with the lower segment of the laptop industry,