The key issues concerning Callaway Golf Company are:
* Relationship with its retail partners
* New product development
* Marketing strategy
Problem:
Callaway has experienced its first loss of $ 27 million after 10 years of growth. Competitors had finally caught up to Callaway's superior R & D capabilities and are flooding the market with new products and promotions, raising the bar for consumers on when to replace their equipment.
Callaway's strategic success in 1988 to 1997 is highly credited to its R & D facilities. Their approach toward innovation and technology provided a cutting edge against the other competitors in the market. The way Callaway was able to continue their differentiation features was through their highly
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They should provide discounts to retailers, which will provide better margins and more services in order to influence purchaser at the point of sale. One price for all retailers avoids channel conflict. Track retailer behavior to provide varying volumes of sales call. Adopt ways to improve relationship on one to one basis. Also, think of education on retail front. Sales people are the key figures for selling their products they should motivate them, by providing incentives, rebates commissions etc the sales people should make surprise visits, as a customer to see how their products are being displayed and to study the customer's behavior towards their products. They should provide the retailers with physical space for better inventory management, loss of sales were accounted, because there was no replenishment.
The R & D facilities allowed them to continuously come up with new products in the market. In my opinion they are flooding the markets with many new products, in a way they are confusing an average golf player with too many different types of golf club.
In a hurry to bring new products they are forced to sell off old products at discount. They are in a way cannibalizing their own products.
Their target market is an average golfer, but they should also target good and experienced players, who are the
By upgrading their brand, it will help to identify the qualities of the products that set it apart from the competition. They have to make the
The golf industry is a competitive industry. It is especially competitive for Islington Golf Club. Islington has a lot of competition, 30 other courses within a 30 minute drive from Toronto and several located within 5-10 minutes. Many of the courses located close to Islington Golf Club have recently undergone renovations or have more amenities to offer members. These factors make it hard for Islington to get new members because they do not have the extra money for renovations and upgrades.
Wannabe golfers They 're large in numbers and enjoy driving ranges, driving games, miniature golf, and pitch and put.
As a member of management Clive Jenkins is responsible for boosting employee morale to ensure that company goals are met
Threat of Substitute Products and Rivalry Among Competitors- these two forces are closely related. In marketing, the word “product” means more than a good, service or idea. Product is a broad concept that also encompasses the satisfaction of all consumer needs in relation to a good, service or idea. All planning strategies have the goal of creating a sustainable competitive advantage in which other companies simply cannot provide the same value to their customers that the firm does, no matter how hard they try. When a national chain retailer has a competitive advantage with a product, it must take steps to safe guard that product to stay different and unique in the marketplace. For example, Macy’s is the exclusive retailer for Martha Stewart home lines and is currently in a legal battle with JCPenney who announced that they will carry that line as well.
Callaway Golf Company (CGC) excelled in designing, development, manufacture and marketing of Golf clubs and accessories. Established in 1982, the publicly traded company recorded a steady growth in sales from $5million in 1988 to $800 million in 1997. This was possible due to clarity in vision of its CEO Ely Callaway, which was aimed at making a satisfying product which was uncommon and enjoyable for the average player rather than professionals. The revolutionary clubs were sold to professional as well as average players at premium prices driven by the high performance delivered by them.
Callaway Golf Company is considered a leader of the golf equipment industry through its development of technologically advanced golf clubs that compensated for the most amateur players with poor swings and helping them achieve a better golf game with the introduction of Big Bertha in 1990 and launched Callaway Golf Company forward at great speed into notoriety of the golfing community (Gamble, 2000). This analysis will thoroughly dive into the many parts of the case of the Callaway Golf Company.
The founder, Ely Callaway’s vision is: “If we make a truly more satisfying product for the average golfer, not the professionals, and make it pleasingly different form the competition, the company would be successful.” However, this vision is change from other company’s visions; the difference being that the price is not mention.
Ely Callaway founded Callaway Golf Company in 1982. In the early years, the company was named Callaway Hickory Stick USA, Inc. and specialized in hickory shafted putters and wedges. In 1988 the name of the company was changed to Callaway Golf Company. In the '90s, Ely Callaway and his company changed the golf industry in ways no one could have anticipated. Richard Helmstetter and his R&D department found a way to create a stainless steel driver that had a larger and more forgiving
founder of Callaway Golf Company turned the most-feared club into the most-loved almost overnight. The driver became the fastest-selling club at retail. Many innovations have followed. From woods, irons, and putters to golf balls and golf accessories, Callaway Golf has consistently used ingenuity, quality construction, and technology to make the finest premium products in the industry.
owners have found that demand for their product has outstripped their ability to supply it. They
Companies currently operating within the golf industry, specifically Calloway Golf, must change their current marketing approaches and strategies to withstand the recession and threats facing the industry. Although Calloway has a strong R&D department that tends to remain competitive with products and technology, there have been little results in reference to scores. It is imperative that if companies are going to market a product that will help golfers drive further and straighter that the results depict this so that not to damage the brand name of a product. Secondly, due to the decline in equipment sales and the number of golfers, prices are dropping and companies are outsourcing to maintain the volume needed to remain competitive. Companies must be cautious and aware so that counterfeiting may be reduced. This reduction would also allow companies to reduce their pricing and have more sales without the competition of these cheaply priced knock-offs. In the instance of
The partners must do additional analysis prior to determining if they should invest in a new miniature golf venture in Golden City. Before establishing marketing objectives, advertising and promotional programs, plans for addressing demand fluctuations and considering alternate locations, they must determine if they can generate sufficient sales to fund operations. They have done market research which provides a good baseline for establishing the demand, course capacity and anticipated costs. Once they have analysed this data and established that the business is financially viable, they can address advertising, demand and location questions by developing a marketing strategy.
Our town is notable for having several interesting golf courses. For those residents whose interests lie in other pursuits, those courses are a waste of large quantities of otherwise useful space that could be better used to construct another mall or store. For the golf enthusiasts among us, however, the preponderance of courses is a delightful benefit of living in this otherwise uninteresting locale, where the only saving grace is the plentiful supply of interesting people.
New Product Development : the aggressive investment strategy into R&D division led to speed in releasing new products in the market. This gave the company higher ROI returns projections. The faster cycle of innovation led to multiple product availability in the market which led to further increasing the gap between them and the competitions and also the company indulged in manufacturing self brand products rather than Co-branded or Partnerships.