Egg Nogger

Aqualisa Quartz

What is the Quartz value proposition to Plumbers and to the Consumers?

The value proposition to the plumbers is the relative ease of installation that reduces the time by up to 1.5 days over a standard shower installation. The Quartz design allows for less repeat trips to fix problems at their own expense. Further, they can pass along the installation jobs to their apprentices. This frees them up to make more money on larger jobs and also ameliorates the shortage of plumbers in the UK.

For the consumers the Quartz offers a superior product to that of its competitors. The Quartz expedites the shower controls which allows for more exact temperature control and the customers are blown away by the “wow factor” (e.g. push button controls). Furthermore, the Quartz shower is a superior shower experience that vastly improves water pressure and the longevity of the shower unit. Also there are no cumbersome boxes taking up precious space in the shower. These enhancements open up new market segment possibilities. Women don’t have to worry about getting their hair wet when they jump in for a quick shower and the elderly don’t have to fiddle with stiff valves.

Due to the savings on installation, the Quartz so profoundly affects the price that the total cost of the Quartz Standard unit winds up being less expensive than any of the other shower units (see Chart 1). So for example, if one factors in that the average labor would be Ð'Ј240 total (Ð'Ј60/hr.) compared with Ð'Ј960 installation for a standard shower this offsets the higher price of the Quartz units. The price factor is a huge delighter for consumers that also helps further delineate the Quartz above its competitors.

2. Why is the Quartz not selling?

The Quartz sales are suffering for many reasons primarily due to positioning errors on the part of the Aqualisa management. The market entry strategy is ill-defined and lacks a clear direction. They have failed to hone in on a target niche as well as to develop an effective product induction strategy. This is further exacerbated by the lack of buy-in on the part of their most important allies in the sales processes вЂ" the plumbers.

Furthermore, the enduring perception that electric showers are inherently faulty and inferior products has continued to plague the shower industry en masse. The faulty electronics have historically proven more costly to plumbers who must cough up their own money to cover repair costs.

It’s also clear Aqualisa hasn’t done a good job in managing its product lifecyles to proactively to stay ahead of its competitors. They continue to gain on the Aqualisa market share and are only 2 years behind Aqualisa and closing fast.

On the sales and marketing end, teams are focusing about 90% of their attention on existing customers and not targeting new ones.

Brand awareness in the entire segment is very poor among consumers that often defer to plumbers or developers to select the shower unit for their bathrooms.

The market entry strategy suffers because the cost is extremely high in the DIY market compared to its own less expensive Gainsborough brand вЂ" thus creating a conflict among its own brands.

3. How should the company segment the market, and what part of the market should Rawlinson target in order to fix the sales problem?

Aqualisa needs to categorically change its marketing focus by indentifying a value chain for both its customers and consumers