Competition in Bottled Water Industry

New or increased domestic production of the company 's basic raw materials by other potential producers.

Compare the economics of the concentrate business to that of the bottling business: Why is the profitability so different?

and the economy by raising the quantity needed to be supplied to keep up with the demand of the

This created a demand for bigger business expansions so that more products could be produced faster and cheaper.

Since most of buyers are small (residential and small business users), they do not have much buyer power. Big

In Flint, Michigan, residents had high levels of lead in their water. The problem arose when the budget cuts were being made by the city’s government to decrease the debt. The city switched to Flint River as their water source without testing the water for harmful substances. Many residents were having medical issues but government officials ignored them. Also, many families could not afford bottled water and had to keep using tap water. A pediatrician found the problem when they observed the result of blood tests from residents of the town. The city switched back to their original water but it was too late, the lead had already corroded the pipes. As parents began to get more worried for their children’s health the federal government

•For suppliers: The company does not ask so much money for what they sale and can give more money for what they want.

* Higher sales volume in wider location and hence higher profit (distributor require either high volume sales or high advertising, hence if tied up with any one distributor, the sales target might go high requiring the company to be more competitive)

be involved in. This ultimately can lead to an increase in production as well as expansion of

Power of SuppliersThis is a complicated factor as it isn’t an ordinary relationship a company would have with suppliers, as the suppliers depend on HC to grow and manage their crops however HC also rely on the suppliers to gain their ingredients.

* Cost disadvantage. High-price raw material, as well as the ice cream equipment, which has to import from other countries; high fixed

The market greatly depends on how powerful buyers are in terms of their willingness to pay certain prices. The following determines the bargaining power of buyers

Given the importance of cans in cost structure, bottlers and CP's often maintained relationships with more than one supplier reducing their power. The excess of input suppliers in the market led, sometimes, to intense competition to obtain a single contract.

Buyers have more power when they are large-volume buyers, the product is a significant aspect of the buyer's costs or purchases, the products are standard within an industry, there are few switching costs, the buyers earn low profits, potential for backward integration of the buyer group exists, the product is not essential to the buyer's product, and the buyer has full disclosure about supply, demand, prices, and

The term “Brand Loyalty” also called as “Customer Loyalty” has been in the business industry since a very long time as a model to be used in conducting business. But it wasn’t until the mid to late 1900’s that the term was actually given its due importance by making it a vital part of advertising and marketing. The concept of marketing evolved substantially from being focused on sales of a product to having Customer satisfaction to be its focal point. Studies further revealed that there was a positive correlation between customer satisfaction and Brand Loyalty.