Pricing and retail strategy are important elements of the marketing mix. For the purposes of the following assignment I would like to refer to Paderno cookware company. Paderno company offers a range of products, such as bakeware and accessories (mixing bowls, silicon sensations, specialty bakeware etc.), cookware (classic cookware, fry pans, roasting pans, specialty cookware) and kitchenwares and accessorizes (graters, boards, knives etc.) (Paderno, 2013). The company operates primarily at the U.S.market. High quality of products, reached by Paderno, requires significant inputs, and results in quite high prices for Paderno (Sears, 2013). This fact makes getting the insight into pricing and retail strategies more topical due to the need to justify the inputs, mentioned above.
The prices for Paderno products can be characterized as lying between middle and high ones (Belohlavek, 2008, 75). Along with product, pricing is crucial for products’ positioning at the market. According to positioning theory, there are two basic ways to ensure quality positioning and differentiating. One is to emphasize the product itself as the one, which can provide consumers with extremely high value, which can be manifested in the form of outstanding quality, reliability, usefulness or different combinations of above-mentioned and other characteristics. Another one is to use prices, lower than the ones competitors introduce for similar product. For the purposes of increasing sales is will be of great use for Paderno to apply the mixed strategy, which will base positioning on promoting both distinguished features of its products and trying to sell them at affordable customer-friendly prices (Belohlavek, 2008, 18). On the other hand, it is worth singling out some products which will fall within the scope of the luxury ones, so higher prices can be applied to sell them to clients, who consider high prices being a guarantee of respective quality.
In other words, we consider differentiating in pricing to be one of the keys to attracting attention of different market segments, meeting their expectations regarding both the product and pricing. Different pricing strategies are to be worked out with respect to each particular product and the target, which is expected to be interested in buying it.
Along with product, pricing and promotion, placing is a core component of marketing mix as reaching the customers is as important as elaborate on a product, meeting the needs and wants of the clients, sell it at affordable price and get them be aware about it. Since the establishment of Paderno’s manufacturing plant in North America, Paderno has been experiencing constant need to approach placing issues, so that customers can get access to its high quality products. Nowadays customers get Paderno products via five major distribution channels, which are factory sales, Paderno kitchen stores, Paderno.com, Paderno blowout sales and national chains (Paderno, 2013). Diversity of distribution channels allows customers drawing conclusion about the product being useful and popular as non-popular and unsuccessful product’s manufacturers are not likely to be able to establish such a diverse distribution net. What is also important is that ramified distribution net allows Paderno show its respect for customers and aiming at helping the customer to get the product with the help of the means particular consumer prefers. Paderno kitchen stores are the ones, owned by the company. Due to their rising popularity, the company is currently aims at broadening their sphere of operation after the stores having been repositioned from factory stores to kitchen ones. Products by Paderno are being distributed through Best Buy, Costco.ca etc. Combining own stores and selling products through retail stores is good for securing the distribution strategy.
Concluding I would like to state that Paderno has quite a developed distribution strategy, but its pricing strategy still needs to be more adjusted to positioning and differentiating strategies’ requirements.
References
Belohlavek, P.(2008). Unicist marketing mix.. Houston: Blue Eagle Group
Paderno (2013). Official website. Retrieved 15 January 2014 from https://paderno.com
Sears . (2013). Paderno products. Retrieved 15 January 2014 from http://www.sears.ca/catalog/paderno/100001091
