Land Rover

Case Synopsis

This case describes how Land Rover North America, Inc. (LRNA) has redesigned their dealerships and selling process with the objective of building and enhancing equity for its brand. Land Rover is a niche player in a very crowded and rapidly maturing product category. Competition is fierce and is dominated by large global competitors with extensive dealer networks who differentiate their products largely by size, features, and price. The company has relatively few dealerships and cannot afford the volume of advertising or promotion that its primary competitors can. The company must choose to depend upon positioning its product as a specialty brand, characterized by brand insistence on the part of its buyers.

Charles Hughes, President and CEO of Land Rover North America, Inc. (LRNA) is debating three positioning options for the new $30,000 Land Rover Discovery. The positioning decision will help LRNA settle on advertising messages and other communications strategies.

Case Objectives and Use

The following case study is intended for Retail Management or Marketing Management courses at the undergraduate or graduate levels. This case illustrates the following concepts: environmental analysis (including buyer behaviour of consumers), retail pricing, customer communications, store facilities management, customer service, and strategic retail management.

The case also covers strategic marketing (including competitive advantage), segmentation, consumer behaviour, product development, branding, positioning, retailing, personal selling and sales promotion, and pricing.

Teaching Objectives

- To explore the concept of brand equity;

- To illustrate how the organization and execution of retail selling can