Introduction
The Marketing department is one of those departments of a company that work by presenting the products or services of the company in front of the general public and it is known as an important department from the standpoint of an organization. Market analysis, trend analysis, potential analysis and forecasting analysis are some of the elements of Marketing Mix used specifically to market the products of the company effectively and accordingly, as well. Tools like Segmentation and 4ps are some of the major ones that used specifically for the purpose of increasing the market share (Sheehan, 2010, pp. 43-46). The main perspective of this assignment is to make a marketing report on a product of the chosen company lies in an industry. The company that has been chosen for the same is Toys R US, and the product that has been chosen for the analysis purpose is Picture it.
Description of the Company and Product
Toy R Us Inc is a dedicated toy and juvenile product retailer founded in the year 1948 and has its headquartering located in New Jersey, United States (US). The company currently operates more than 879 toys “R” and Babies “R” Us stores predominantly in the United States. The company has a license of more than 35 countries of the world in terms of doing their operations. The company was very old and it was founded in the year 1948. Charles Lazarus is known as the founder of the company. The products of the company comprising on Clothing, Toys and Baby clothing
Currently, the CEO of the company is Kravis Roberts and the company has around 1,640 locations in the United States. The company earned net revenue of US$ 13.90 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2012 and known as a perfect company in terms of increasing the shareholder’s equity.
A product that has been chosen for the same analysis is Picture It. The product has an uploaded option from that the customers can upload their pictures on five different products like mugs, lunch box, stationary, bags and photo frames. Customers can choose from different shapes and designs with different color combination (Russell, 2008, pp. 67-70). The printing business is effective in terms of the product of the company and they made with different shapes and colors, as well. The industry of Toys of the United States is growing with a robust pace and the companies operating in the same industry is making a high number of profits, as well.
Market Description
For last some decades, the toy industry is one of the fastest growing industries of the world both in terms of size and in terms of revenue, as well. However, considerable amounts of factors has been located in recent years, in that the toy retail industry have struggled considerably with the decreasing of sales due to the price hiking and escalating inflation among different parts of the world, including the United Kingdom (UK) (Polonsky and Mintu-Wimsatt, 1995, pp. 87). The toy industry hit hard by the current economic crisis, especially after devastating the UK market, it went all wrong for the UK market, as well. Big companies in the market like Toys R Us and Woolworths had experienced a real tough time during the current economic downturn especially in the end of the year 2008. A recovery is envisaged in the year 2009 as the economy starting to gain something in the long run.
Size of the Market & Trends in Toy Market of the UK
The trend found that the UK toy market is perfect and well organized. There are a number of categories that have been found among the toy industry in particular. The categorizes that have been found among the domestic market of Toys in the UK are, Role Play, Arts and Crafts, Dolls, games and many more. According to the estimation, the total super category of the UK market was amounting to US$ 21.62 billion that increased to a level of US$ 22 billion in the year 2012. An increment of 17% has been envisaged in the toy industry in the year 2012 (Association, 2014). The trends are perfect and well established and it can be found that the new product “The Picture” would certainly get an added advantage in this particular stance. Effective and positive trends are well identified and perfect and it would certainly enhance the productivity of the companies operating in the same industry. Outdoor & Sports Toys and Dolls are two of the most popular toys that are making the highest of this market amounting to $ 4.2 billion and $ 3.6 billion respectively (Association, 2014). The size of the toy market of the UK is high and it can be compared with other toy markets, as well. The graph mentioned below is comparing two different markets of the toy industry
This particular graph is comparing the toy market of the UK with other toy markets. From the analysis, it is found that it was only a single year in that the industry loses some of their earning potential. The earning of the UK market in terms of a toy industry increased significantly each year for the next 4 years till 2012. It was $ 79.6 billion in the year 2009 that increased to a level of $ 83.3 billion in the year 2010 and 2011 respectively. Another market is increasing as well with a robust pace with the other UK market, as well. Our product, “The Picture” would certainly make a difference in the market and will be effective.
Market Share
There are three different companies that are in the industry to compete with Toys R Us. The market share are mentioned below
The market share of Toys R Us is 25%, while Wall-Mart has the highest share with a proportion of 35% in the entire UK market.
Segmentation Analysis
Segmentation, targeting and positioning are some of the major things on that the production of a product would be depended. We have segmented the products to different age groups, like it is different for a certain age group and entirely different for the others
Targeting
The targeting audience of our product would be children age between 4-16 years. The two segmentation are from 4-8 years, and other is 8-16 years/
Positioning
The positioning strategy of the company is perfect and well organized and it would be effective for the company in the near future. The company positions their product with effectiveness, with effective packaging and quality material
Competitor’s Analysis
Competitor’s profile matrix (CPM) analysis would have been used in this particular analysis and there are other companies as well that would be used in the same analysis (Davidow, 1986, pp. 55-58). The chart of CPM is mentioned below
Competitive Profile Matrix
Where
Current Market Position
We are competing with the world’s best toy companies. Therefore, we will be required to strategize our business model in a way, that would facilitate us to acquire a sustainable competitive advantage and sufficient market share at the same time.
Customer Behavior
Consumer or customer behavior is some of the important things and aspects from the viewpoint of the company and it is equally beneficial for Toys R Us market. The consumers of the company require to have effective products at reasonable price and the company is doing the same for enhance the customer’s relationship.
SWOT Analysis of Picture It
SWOT analysis is a marketing tool or planning technique that is used to measure a company’s current standing. The entire framework takes information that is based on environment based analysis that is separated into the internal and external environment. The whole model should be taken as a guide but not as a recommendation. SWOT Analysis of the product is mentioned below
Marketing Mix Analysis
The Marketing mix is a valuable business model that is used in marketing activities or by professionals. The process of market mix is usually difficult in identifying a product or product’s offer, and it is often integrated with 4Ps that encompass with product, price, placement and promotion.
Product Strategy
The product strategy that the 3d Printers have to use would be Analyzer. In that the product would analyze the other similar products as well that are operating in the same market. In this way, Picture It would get a certain added advantage. With the help of this particular strategy, the organization become effective as this particular product strategy would enable the organization to analyze the product or services from a different angle. Toys R Us is a toy based company and continuous analyzing of similar products would be fruitful.
Pricing Strategy
The pricing strategy that 3d Printers should use in the commencement of the operations is Penetration. The main reason behind choosing this particular strategy is that the product is new in the market and requires strengthening its roots in the market. With the help of this particular strategy, the organization would become effective as with the help of this particular strategy, low prices could have been charged by the management from their customers. This particular strategy would be effective in the initial years of operations; however it would be fruitful for the company to change to Competitive Pricing Strategy after a certain time period.
Pricing Strategy Model:
Place Strategy
Place strategy that the 3d Printers have to use would be both offline and online to become economically fit in terms of selling Picture It.
Promotion Strategy
Promotion Strategy that the company has to use is Pull, in that both offline and online promotional mediums would have been taken into account including social media networking, as well. Social media networking has now emerged as an integral thing from the viewpoint of an organization as far as promotional activities are concerned and Toy R Us have to use the same in order to become economically fit in the UK market.
Conclusion
The main perspective of this assignment is to make a marketing report on a product of an organization lies in an industry. From the entire analysis, it is found that Picture It would certainly get the added advantage by entering the industry of Toy and it would be effective for the company to become economically and strategically active.
Reference List
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Association, T. 2014. Annual Sales Data. [online] Available at: http://www.toyassociation.org/TIA/Industry_Facts/salesdata/IndustryFacts/Sales_Data/Sales_Data.aspx#.UxBTYOOSxQg [Accessed: 28 Feb 2014].
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Pride, W. M. and Ferrell, O. C. 2012. Marketing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Russell, E. 2008. The fundamentals of marketing communication. Lausanne: AVA Academia.
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