Stainmaster - Case Analysis

Introduction and Problem According the Wallstreet journal, the purchase of carpet is one of the most expensive purchases that people make in their lifetime, yet this product as remained mostly undermarketed with only 5 million dollars spent on customer advertising for 15 billon dollars in revenue for the industry. In 1988 the industry saw a major change with the introduction of Du Pont’s Stainmaster carpeting, which allowed it to gain a strong foothold and marketing advantage within the industry. But there are still some issues that the company needs to address; mainly 1) the best use for its brands 2) the impact of the competition and 3) how Stainmaster should be positioned versus the rest of the market. Indeed, faced with the increasing complain of mills and retailers about the margins on its products, Du Pont needs to determine to which extent its product should be positioned as premium products. This analysis will allow to us to reach our recommendation that Du pont should maintain its premium positioning for its product and make better use of its distribution channels to reflect that positioning by moving away from small retailers and the “warehouse effect” that is currently present at most retail points.
The Four C’s
Company
Du Pont is an American chemical company founded in 1802 as a gunpowder mill. Today it is one of the world’s largest chemical company and ranked 66th on Fortune’s 500 list. Stainmaster, which was introduced by Du Pont in 1986 and by the end of that year, was far surpassing its competitors in terms of brand awareness with a brand awareness of 79%. With a 5-year guaranteed warranty, Stainmaster products were also of very high quality, which was recognized through various awards such as “best new product”, awarded by Fortune’s magazine in 1987. The brand also benefited from a high commitment to advertisement and promotion from the company with TV ads and radio spots representing more than 65,45% of cumulative advertising