conceptual designed by:dr. a. seiler; eth-zürich adapted by:j. schwärzler; htl-bregenz case study

conceptual designed by: dr. a. seiler; eth-zürichadapted by: j. schwärzler; htl-bregenz

Case Study


Macy’s Problem

The problem is to be found in New York City, where the market shares have dropped 9% over the last three years.


Your MissionYou are Macy's marketing specialist.

Your assignment is to assist the marketing manager of New York, Kevin Smith, with a market - and competition analysis.


Identifying Market Segments

• Products: apparel, house wares, jewelry

• Geographical market segmentation: downtown, outskirts

• Types of customers: businessmen, families, tourists

Mr. Smith wants to know which of the following options seems the most sensible to you.

Task 1.1


Finding Out Market Shares of Important Offerers

• Macy‘s• Abraham & Straus• Gimbel’s• Bloomingdale’s• Others

Mr. Smith has asked you to go through the documents and pick out the information regarding the present market shares for the most important department stores of New York.

Task 1.2


Establishing Market Size

Mr. Smith has asked you to define the size of the department store market in New York as precisely as possible. Information in the folder therefore serve as a basis.

Task 1.3

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Describing Customers

• How many customers visit Macy’s in New York each day?

• Which division of Macy’s has the most customers?• What income do Macy’s customers have?• How often do Macy’s customers shop at the

competition?• What market share equals one thousand customers?• How much price reduction should loyal customers be

given?• How far away do Macy’s customers live from the

location of the store?

When describing customers, separate the essential from the less relevant questions.

Task 2.1a


After separating the essential questions, please help Mr. Smith to answer them, by using the information folder and making estimations.

Task 2.1b

• Less than 5'000• Between 5'000 and 50'000• More than 50'000

customers visit Macy's each day.

The income of most customers is • high.• medium.• low.

Macy's customers • never• seldom• often

shop at the competition.

The majority of Macy's clientele live • up to 5 km• between 5 and 20 km• more than 20 km

from the location of the store.


Studying the Act of PurchasePut together a rough profile for how purchases are made at Macy’s.

Task 2.2

• Number of customers per day

• Ration of purchases taken by the customer vs. delivered purchases

• How many products that were bought were ordered in advance


Analyzing the Purchase DecisionPut the following deciding factors in order of priority.

Task 2.3

Deciding factors:• delivery time• price• breadth of the assortment• quality• service• availability• payment methods

High Priority

Medium Priority

Low Priority


Capturing the Scope of Services

• What is the average time a customer waits in line at the register?

• Is there a return or exchange policy?• Does Macy’s offer sufficient parking in the city center?• Is a contact person to help with problems or questions

available to customers at all times (consultation, customer service, a service hotline)?

• What kind of guarantee from the manufacturer can the customer expect?

For capturing the scope of services, separate the following questions into important and irrelevant / wrong questions.

Task 4.1a


• What kind of guarantee from the manufacturer can the customer expect?

• Does Macy’s fashion department follow the newest trends?

• How do customers react to Macy’s Logo?• Does Macy’s offer customers an advantage for loyalty?• Is it possible to deposit umbrellas at the entrance?• Are there options to eat at Macy’s?• Are there enough restrooms?

Task 4.1b


Pricing Policy What is the predominant and also Macy’s current pricing policy?

Task 4.2a

Pricing policy with orientation according to • cost

• demand

• competition

• use

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Determining Pricing Conditions Following is a list of campaigns for discounts, various payment conditions and other measures of pricing differentiation as undertaken by Macy’s competitors.

Task 4.2b1

According to which of the following criteria do they differentiate their prices?

Pricing differentiation according to • region• marketing instruments• type of customer• line of a product• times

• To stimulate the holiday business Gimbel’s has a “sale” in December.


Task 4.2b2

• Bloomingdale’s grants customers with a preferred customer card a 5% discount for the entire assortment.

• Customers at Alexander’s profit from a 2% discount if the payment is made in cash.

• For purchases of more than $500 customers receive a $10 voucher at Arnold Constable.

• The in-store prices at Abraham & Straus are slightly higher in the city than in the suburbs.

• B. Altman’s gives customers a 20% discount on their entire jeans selection.

• There is a flat fee of $15 for home delivery of all purchases made at Alexander’s.


Identifying Means of Communication

• What is the ratio of orders to offers?• What part of the turnover can be put down to visits from sales

representatives?• Which means of communication does Macy’s use?• How many consumers watch Macy’s Thanksgiving-Parade?• What is the communication between management and personnel

like?• What is the significance of the individual means of

communication?• Does Macy’s also sell musical instruments?• In what type of media does Macy’s advertisement appear?• What does the ratio of cost to use of the individual means of

communication look like?

Which of the following questions are important to identify Macy’s means of communication and which aren’t?

Task 4.3


Deriving of Critical Factors for Success

Task 5

According to priority (1st and 2nd), assign the critical factors for success to the following three segments. Hurry up, Mr. Smith is waiting!

•quality•service •breadth of the assortment

•price

Individuals with a high income (more than $50'000 per year)

Individuals with a low income (less than $50‘000 per year)

Families

2nd Priority1st Priority


Determining Decisive Competitors Mr. Smith wants to know which competitors are especially threatening, and which are not?

Task 6.1

• Gimbel’s• Lord & Taylor• Bloomingdale’s• B. Altman’s• J.C. Penney• Ohrbach’s• Alexander’s• Arnold Constable • Abraham & Straus

Decisive Competitors


Visualizing Main Store Locations Visualize the location of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Gimbel’s main stores by drawing them in the street map of Manhattan attached to the folder.

Task 6.2


Task 6.2b


Analyzing Strengths & Weaknesses

Task 6.3a

formal ProductPrice

QualityAppearance

Product range

extended ProductAdvice

Sale on exchangePayment conditions

Queue time at the register

Consumer needsBloomingdale’s Abraham & Straus

Macy’sGimbel’sAlexander’s

good bad


Try to fill in the gap text with help of the preceding strengths / weaknesses-profiles

Task 6.3b

• has the best price level.

• Macy’s meets customers’ expectations the least in the area of .

• Regarding service (extended product) is ahead by a nose.

• Only the at Abraham & Straus ranked higher than at Gimble’s.

• In general Macy’s covers the needs of the customers .


Estimating Future Behavior With the aid of your information - folder and the findings you have obtained so far, try to make an estimate of the important competitors’ future behavior.

Task 6.4

Gimbel’s, Bloomingdale’s, Abraham & Straus or Alexander’s

... will cut back a great number of jobs.

... wants to maintain price level and the market share, if possible.... will attempt to keep prices below the price level of the competition.... will launch innovative products.... wants to become leader of the market.... withdraws from the market.... will invest more in research and development.... orientates itself newly to the market.


Congratulations

Mission accomplished


New York, New York

Task 7a

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today I want to be a part of it - New York, New York These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray Right through the very heart of it - New York, New York

I want to wake up in a city, that doesn't sleep And find I'm king of the hill - top of the heap

These little town blues, are melting away I'm gonna make a brand new start of it - in old New York If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere It's up to you - New York, New York

http://users.cis.net/sammy/newyork.htm








New York, New York I want to wake up in a city, that never sleeps To find I'm a number one, head of the list, Cream of the crop at the top of the heap.

These little town blues, are melting away I'm gonna make a brand new start of it - in old New York If I can make it there, I'm gonna make it anywhere It's up to you - New York, New York

Task 7b

conceptual designed by:dr. a. seiler; eth-zürich adapted by:j. schwärzler; htl-bregenz case study

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