Culinarian Cookware: Pondering Price Promotion Essay

As a market leading brand primarily focusing in designing, manufacturing, distributing and marketing premium cookware, Culinarian Cookware takes pride in its outstanding product quality, advanced performance technology and the strong dealership with retail stores established throughout the years, which Donald Janus, the VP of Marketing believes makes Culinarian stands strong in its competitive industry. In regardless of Culinarian’s usual practice of avoiding price discounting, an official price promotion program was launched in 2004, which was later concluded by a consultant firm that these promotions had a negative impact on profits. There are different views toward the price promotion strategies and the corresponding report in the senior management: Janus felt price promotions were unnecessary, potentially damaging to the brand image, and possibly encouraged retailer hoarding; Brown believed the promotions strengthened trade support, improved brand awareness, and stimulated sales from both new and existing customers. While Janus trusted the report results, Brown believed the study assumptions were flawed and required further analysis, suspected the promotions had actually produced positive results. In November of 2006, debates among the senior management team had been going on regarding the pros and cons of price promotions for the company’s premium cookware products. A decision is needed to be made in terms of how price promotion can be utilized in Culinarian’s marketing strategy. Key Issue The urgent and key question is whether to run a price promotion in 2007 and, if so, to determine what merchandise to promote and on what terms. The broader issue is what strategy Culinarian should pursue to achieve its sales growth objective, and what role, if any, price promotion should play. Clearly there are attractive advantages and draw-backs with significant consequences for a price promotion program. The final recommendation will need to be in line with the four strategic objectives of the company: (1) Widen its distribution network; (2) Increase its market share of the premium cookware segment; (3) Preserve its prestigious image; (4) Capture its  revenue growth of at least 15% while maintaining pre-tax earnings margins of 12%. Possible Alternatives (1) No Price Promotion This alternative would means there will be no official price promotion, only occasional free gifts would be given out with purchase of items at regular price. There are least risks associated with this option but the company will need to seek other ways to maintain their competitiveness. (2) Discount on Slow Growing Items The second option would be to apply a 30% discounted price to the slow growing items like what the company did in 2006. (3) Price Promotion Campaign (Discount on selected premium items) To invest in a comprehensive price promotion campaign. Discount price will be applied not only to the cheapest and slow growing items but to selected items from all lines. The campaign will be assist with edgy advertising methods to create a â€Å"hype† to the price cutting. The Recommendation Alternative 3: Price Promotion Campaign The recommendation to pursue the third alternative was made based on a decision matrix with the following set of criteria: risk; ability to widen distribution network; positive impact on brand image; ease of implementation and financial return. The Rationale Price promotion is superior to a gift incentive in the following ways. As Culinarian is heavily relied on retailers for distribution, their opinions carry a certain weight of important. Many of the retailers expressed that a free gift approach often confuse them as to how many gifts to order. These 0 value-carrying gifts also occupy valuable inventory spaces and thus are generally not welcomed by these distribution channels. When looking at the company strategies, one should realize that the current very low brand awareness among the target groups (HHI $75,000+) is a big issue (Exhibit 4). Discounting merchandize can effectively attract attention and raise awareness, broaden its customer base and stimulate excitement for the brand among the customers. When looking at the analysis of Culinarian’s target group – the households with income over $75,000, 30% cited price as the most important criterion in selecting cookware; 30% of these consumers would be motivated to buy new cookware because of a price discount versus 20% being motivated by a free gift; 20% would intentionally wait for a sale and â€Å"Price† is ranked top 3 in the criteria of choosing a cookware. These study result show that the customers value a price promotion and even actively seek these promotion out. Clearly a cut in price will generate increased sale volume. Indeed it is true that there are uncertainties in whether the price promotion in 2004 was profitable or not. A report by a consultant firm concluded that the promotion program was not profitable. However, one group in the management team including Brown believes there are significant flaws exist in the analysis due to the following errors: the normal sales figures being too high; variable costs including overhead cost incorrectly; the cannibalization costs and inventory savings which, instead of being left out of calculations, were included and estimated inaccurately. Another argument being that when you look at the figures provided in the case exhibit, one could see that sales volume drop right after the price promotion in both 2004 and 2005, thus easily hurry to conclude that a price promotion does not benefit the company. However it is possible that the failure of these programs is due to other factors affecting the profitability including the level of discount rate, the ordering size allowances etc. execution considerations. Thus, these calculations cannot serve as a proof against a price promotion. Because of the above rationale, a price promotion would be appropriate to be run in 2007. Janus’s worries of the disadvantage of a price promotion could  be counteracted by the recommendation of the second alternative, which were recommended with two major objectives in mind: raise brand awareness (while maintaining a leading prestige image) and widen distribution network (which potentially serve as a gateway to increase market share and profit). The major concern of Janus was the potential negative impact to the brand’s premium image especially when the two direct competing premium cookware brands do not use price promotion. However this generally happen only when discounted items was focused on the cheapest line or the slow growing ones (which exactly was what happened in 2004 and 2005). In the new price promotion campaign, a limited number of premium items will needed to be selected for a discount to maintain the prestige and premium image of the brand while specific communication campaign will be employed to increase customer satisfaction on buying the premium product with a discount price. Expanding the discount to more expensive line could also The next question would be how the promotion will be executed. The Implementation Again a limited number of premium items (eg. PROX1) combine with cheaper lines (eg. CX1) will be selected for a discount. In fact, the selection will cover specific items of all 4 lines. A communication campaign will be employed to call out the message to the public: â€Å"Here is the premium brand, and we are selling it for a lower price so that YOU can also try out these high-quality cookware† (â€Å"Quality† remains the top motivator for choosing cookware). The discount period will still be around April and May to avoid direct competition with the other big cookware brands. In terms of the problem of retailers placing over-size trade orders and eating up the difference, Culinarian can counteract this by pre-print or attaching a discount notification on the product packaging and limiting each order size during the pre-discount period. In conclusion, Culinarian should implement a price promotion campaign in reaction to the demand of customers. Discount price will be applied to items based on the direction of boosting relationship between the company and retailers, and raise consumer awareness to the prestige brand name. With the appropriate calculation of discount rate and promotion tactics, market share is likely to increase and the profit margins will be brought to the new height.

Orion Systems Jaguar

What recommendations would you make to Rosas about organizing the Jaguar project, and why? Ans: Looking at the major assessment of problem of how ORION projects are manage, it will be plausible for Rosas to shift from the matrix structure and engage in a dedicated project teams structure. The reason been that is, dedicated project teams has a simple form of approach to a particular project where the functional organisation remain intact with the project team operating independently.It is also fast, meaning projects tend to get done more quickly rather than the matrix structure where you can be assigning multiple roles. It is very cohesive and this result in a high level of motivation which allows participants to share a common goal and take responsibility toward the project whiles the matrix structure there will be lack of strong project ownership.There is also cross-functional integration which allows specialists from different areas work closely together and, with proper guidance b ecome more committed to optimizing the project but not their respective areas of skill and this becomes the solution for the scope creep ORION has been encountering in terms of delays and design modifications that were inconsistent with customer requirements which was cause by the tendency for design engineers to get to absorb with the science of the project that they lost focus on practical considerations.ORION major problems of how project are manage; Higher than expected cost, Quality concerns, Problem with customer support, lack of strong project ownership and Scope creep 2) How would you change the organisational chart and master plan to reflect these changes? My chart ORION Organisational chart. Project manager Mechanics System engineer Electronics System engineer Deputy planning and control management Team Leader Team Leader Team Leader Team LeaderProject manager Team Leader Deputy planning and control management Electronics System engineer Mechanics System engineer Tradition al functional departments In organising projects as dedicated teams, the project manager becomes the team manager and work together with the rest of the team supported by the traditional functional department’s whiles in the matrix structure used by ORION each team have a different team leader. Master Plan Training Training programDocumentation and and test equipment SDR/PDR/CDR/TRR/PRR Build Production line Environment tests Laboratory tests and delivery Production Activities/time 6-12Months 1-6Months Design reviews Design and Development Production and Delivery ILS Lockheed martin justify that using a dedicated project teams structure facilitate a quick completion of a project.Now, if Lockheed martin uses 43days to complete an American fighter jet then I don’t see the reason why ORION will spend over 7years to make light-rail trains by using the matrix structure. Therefore, by using the dedicated project teams the process of tests, production and delivery can take le ss than the usual years ORION use to complete a particular project. So by using the dedicated project teams, I change the years on ORION master plan to months to reflect how fast it is to use the dedicated project teams rather than the matrix structure.

Natural Slope Stability Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Natural Slope Stability - Assignment Example Softening of slope cause many hills and mountain to have a landslide causing damage to infrastructure and injury to some. In UK an increasing number of landslides has been occurring because of the late study of the stability of the slope. A case study will be presented to show the evaluation of the slope geotechnically. The study considers the causes of landslides and what measures could be taken to manage the risks of these occurring and is reported elsewhere. This study also show things to consider in the effect of that climate change might have on the design and operation of roads, to identify whether any changes in current practices are required. The focus of this study is the influence of rainfall in the stability of the natural slope.This study includes in how to predict the possible continuous rainfall to avoid landslides in many areas in UK. This paper shows the study in geotechnical way. Possible solution on many landslides are given to prevent loss of life and possible damage to properties. The case study presented in this paper was done by the Scottish engineers, to predict possible slope instability that causes landslide because of continuous rainfall. The study location is in the road network of Scotland In August 2004 a series of landslides in the form of debris flows occurred in Scotland. Some of these affected the A83, A9 and A85, which form part of the trunk road network. These incidents were well reported in the media. While debris flows occur with some frequency in Scotland, they only rarely affect the trunk road network or for that matter the main local road network. However, when they do impact on the road network the degree of damage, in terms of the infrastructure and the loss of utility to road users, can have a major detrimental effect on both economic and social aspects of the use of the asset. Additionally, there is a high potential for such events to cause serious injury and even loss of life although, fortuitously, such consequences have been limited to date. The events of August 2004 followed a sustained period of heavy rainfall and, in addition, intense localised storms contributed to the triggering of at least some of the resulting debris flows. Rainfall of up to 300% of the monthly average fell in certain parts of Scotland during August 2004. Within the recent past, debris flow activity in Scotland has occurred largely in the periods July to August and November to January, but there is no certainty that such a pattern will be continued in the future. However, eastern parts of Scotland do receive their highest levels of rainfall in August. Additionally, climate change models indicate that rainfall levels will increase in the winter but decrease during the summer months but that intense storm events will increase in number. These factors, therefore, may change both the frequency and the annual pattern of debris flow events. The impacts of such events are particularly serious during the summer months due to the major contribution that tourism makes to Scotland's economy. Nevertheless, the impacts of debris flow events during the winter months should not be underestimated. Evaluation of the Study What is a Natural Slope Slope as defined in Encarta is the maximum angle at which soil can be banked without slipping. The slope can be natural (natural cliffs and hillside) or artificial or constructed (cuttings, embankments, quarries, spoil tips

Do Women Have Better Color Vision than Men Essay

Do Women Have Better Color Vision than Men - Essay Example Females have better connections and additional frequent communication between their brain's halves. This accounts for women's knack to have better insight. Men's brains are planned to chasing, which explicates their contracted scale of vision, while women's brains are capable to interpret a broader range of information. In the 1980s, vision examiners started to get some genuine physical discrepancies between the eyes of many women and those of most men. "Normal" color vision is doable because usually human have three different sorts of cone cells in their eyes, each one of which reacts to a different wavelength of beam. The procedure is principally opposite to that of a television set or computer monitor mechanism: on a TV, there are three colored marks - blue, green, and red - and a wide variety of "colors" we see are based on combinations of different degree of those colors. In the eye, cone cells comprises of three different photo tinctures. These are typically generalized as blue, green, and red, but their concrete values are nearer to bluish violet, green, and yellowish green. To keep away from mystification, psychologists characteristically refer to them to long-, medium, and short-wavelength receptive cones. For example, we are looking at a yellowish-green object, the long-wavelength cones are provoked the most, the medium-wavelength cones are kindled a bit, whereas the short-wavelength cones are not revived by any means, and the apposite signal is passed along the optic nerve to the mind, which then identifies the color as "yellowish-green." What the researchers were verdict when they truly looked at the structure of the eye is that most of the women - possibly more than fifty percent - owned a fourth picture pigment. Was this purely a genetic irregularity The premature research recommended that it would not. There is no superiority in women at deciding whether two very alike color scraps were in fact the same. They were only to some extent better than men at perceiving subtle marks of red light, a truth researchers accredited to individual distinction. On the other hand, Jameson and her companions were not influenced by this substantiation. Young girls are better at designating colors than boys, and matured men are not as fine at color-naming compared to women. They experienced the presented measures of color understanding and color-matching did not detain all the discrepancies between men and women, and formulated a new research that they felt was more correspond to real-world vision. (Deeb, 1996) It's to a certain extent complicated to observe an eye to conclude if it has an extra photo pigment - the method generally involves confiscating an eye itself. Jameson and her age group members may perhaps have had just a bit of intricacy recruiting volunteers to take part in a research involving such severe measures, so as an alternative they used a genetic examination to decide how many different photo pigments applicants were expected to possess and they guess this estimate this practice to be about 90 percent correct (Mollon, 2000). Out of 64 contestants in the research, 26 women were have 4 photo pigments, 16 of them were women with 3 photo pigments and 22 were males with 3 photo pigm

Exam 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exam 3 - Essay Example The given statement signifies that ‘Simon cannot be in Columbus and Akron,’ while the choice statement indicates that ‘the city cannot afford to build a new town hall and a highway.’ Both are very direct in their assumptions, and nonetheless were coincided with their likewise direct and logical conclusions that ‘Akron will not be toured by Simon’ and ‘a new town hall will not be built anytime soon’, respectively. Both arguments can be regarded as valid because their conclusions follow what their premises indicate; both also are logically true as claims are accurate and materially consistent with facts (Surhone, Timpledon, & Marseken, 2010). It should be noted, moreover, that the concluding sentences of the two arguments are congruous to their major and minor premises, which are needless to say, imperative in deciphering whether or not validity is present. Both categorical propositions, ultimately, are logically acceptable and sound as their construction or arrangement is more precise than the rest of the choice at hand. Reference Surhone, L. M., Timpledon, M. T. & Marseken, S. F. (2010). Syllogism. Saarbrucken: Betascript.

Write a 3 page response to an argument presented in the reading Essay

Write a 3 page response to an argument presented in the reading - Essay Example The author points out however that happiness is a subjective feeling and what makes one person happy does not necessarily mean it will make the other happy. Happiness is a subjective feeling which has never really been completely achieved by man throughout history. In fact as time goes and years passes, happiness continues to dwindle and people become more frustrated and cases of neurotics increase. Civilization has in fact contributed greatly to the reduction of happiness in man. This is so because humans are under more pressure now and life is much more complicated than it was during the earlier years of primitive living and conditions. This is evidenced by the writing of the writer â€Å"†¦what we call our civilization is largely responsible for our misery, and that we should be much happier if we gave it up and returned to primitive conditions (Freud 33).† There is an argument that civilization has brought about technology and made man superior to the nature but this in the end has not brought happiness â€Å"one would like to ask: is there, then, no positive gain in pleasure, no unequivocal increase in my feeling of happiness†¦?† (Freud 35). Even with development of fancy technical equipment and gadgets such as ships and telephones, people are still miserable as they do not get to be with their loved ones who are away. The technology has made people grow apart and lifestyles to change for the worse. The technological advancements and the civilizations mentioned in the article lead to development of difficult situations and restrain the life of people even more and further reduce their happiness level. Happiness as mentioned in the article is a subjective feeling and which cannot be forced on people and cannot be experienced by everyone. According to Pascal (2008), happiness is defined differently by different people and what may cause happiness to one person may not necessarily emanate the

Business, its's context and stakeholders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business, its's context and stakeholders - Essay Example The overall growth of continental tourism was double the global average. As foreign tourists enjoyed the increasing number of African states, locals began exploring the beauty of neighboring nations. This booming industry is sure to lead to further economic growth in the region even if the increasing level of consumption of resources and the pressure it puts on the natural environment appear as obstacles. The good news is that these obstacles can be dealt with. Furthermore, the expansion of the African tourism industry makes way for greater understanding between the peoples of the world. The African tourism sector is a large scale enterprise involving an enormous number of stakeholders. In the year 2005, the sector provided 3,877,200 jobs directly and an incredible total of 10,647,000 jobs indirectly. The total travel and tourist revenues expected to be generated in 2005 were $73.6 billion of Gross Domestic Product. In particular, Kenya and Mozambique have seen the most rapid growth in tourist activity in recent years. In 2004 the number of visitors to Kenya increased by twenty six percent and the Kenyan government declared in 2005 that the country has earned more from tourism at this time than ever before. In Mozambique – very popular among South African tourists – tourist activity rose by an impressive thirty seven percent. In North Africa, Egypt experienced a six percent increase, Morocco a five percent increase, and Tunisia an eight percent increase. Things did not go as well for the tourism industry between the years 2002 and 2003. Revenues were massively reduced by terrorism and the wars on terror that began in the year 2001. The tourist hotspots of East Africa, namely Kenya and Tanzania, suffered a number of bomb attacks also. All the same, the African tourism industry is on the rebound. The secretary-general of UN’s World Tourism Organization