HBR CASE ANALYSIS

BOOTS: HAIR-CARE SALES PROMOTION

OBJECTIVE

• To drive sales volumes of Boots and trade-up consumers from lower-value brands, while retaining or building

brand equity.

CASE SITUATION

To select one of the three promotional alternatives for sales promotional strategy.

• Get three for the price of two.• Receive a Gift with purchase.

• An on pack coupon worth 50 pence.

DECISIONS: OPTIONSTHREE FOR TWO

• Buy two hair-care items at regular price and receive one free.

• Combine any three items, but they must be of same brand.

• Free item would be the one that is the least expensive of the three items selected.

DECISION: OPTIONS(contd.)

GIFT WITH PURCHASE

• A product sample along with a regular purchase. • For example, a sample size of conditioner would be

packagedwith a regular bottle of shampoo

DECISION: OPTIONS(contd.)

ON-PACK COUPON

• The 50p off offer. • Can redeem the coupon instantly.

DECISION: CRITERIA UNITED KINGDOM HAIR-CARE MARKET

• Brands such as Pantene Pro-V and Head and Shoulders by Procter and Gamble, Alberto VO5 by Alberto-Culver,

and Elvive by L’Oreal.

• Widely available in supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrison's, and at drug retailers

including Boots and Superdrug.

BOOTS’S STRATEGY

• To be the retail hair-care expert and to offer the latest ranges.

• To build a new market by using celebrity endorsements to create awareness and create an

emotional attachment between consumers and the brand.

HAIR-CARE PRODUCT RETAILERS

CONSUMERS

• Not very brand loyal, changing shampoo brands produced better results.

• Trends in buying behaviour led to changing preferences. From gentle hair in 70s to detangling in 80s and to have

shiny hair in 90s.

• Choices varying on brand name, packaging, advertising, price, ingredients, consistency, fragrance.

RELEVANT EVIDENCES

• Women in the 20-35 age category purchased professional brands, more affluent than buyers of mass-

market brands.

• Most Boots consumers bought both basic and premium brands.

• Other customers bought basic products for everyday use and premium products for special occasions.

EVALUATION THREE FOR TWO

• If 100 units of hair care product were sold per day before the promotion, 300 bottles would be sold per day during

the promotion (including the free bottles).

• 60 per cent of sales would be to Boots shoppers that would not have otherwise purchased a hair-care product

from Boots during the promotional period.

EVALUATION(contd.)

GIFT WITH PURCHASE

• Sales during the promotional period would be 170 per cent of sales that would have occurred without the

promotion.

• 40 per cent of sales would be to Boots shoppers that would not have otherwise purchased a hair-care product

from Boots during the promotional period.

EVALUATION(contd.)ON-PACK COUPON

• Sales would increase to 150 per cent of non-promotion sales because December would be a heavy promotional

period for mass market brands.

• 50 per cent of sales would be to Boots shoppers that would not have otherwise purchased a hair-care product

from Boots during the promotional period.

BOOTS OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED• To secure market leadership in the United Kingdom in

the hair-care segment. • Contracts with some of the most prestigious salon

brands in the United Kingdom.

• Profitable Promotions.

• Maintaining and enhancing the professional hair-care brands.

DISCLAIMER

• Created by Mayank Tanwar, IIT Delhi, during Marketing Management Internship 2016 under Prof. Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow.