Goodyear Tires Case Study Essay

The competitive advantage for Canadian Tire stems from the dependency on its dealers and how they interact with their local economy and community. As the dealers are at the front line in garnering profits and attracting and retaining customers, it is critical that they adjust the supplies and stocks accordingly to the needs of their community. The competitive advantage for the Canadian Tire brand relies on three key elements that the dealers possess in order to support a growing and profitable business. According to the Canadian Tire Annual Report (2010), the brand depends on the “business instincts, [the dealer’s] connection and commitment to their communities and their local market insights to ensure [they’re] offering relevant products at competitive prices” (p. 29).

The fourth part of this report will investigate the claim that “smaller cars provide better values than larger cars,” given the provided data. The claim does not make clear what measurement for determining “values” is to be used, but we will proceed with the assumption that Consumer Report’s Value Score is an accurate representation of real-world value. Because we determined that the Size category and the two related ‘dummy’ variables did not have a significant relationship with the Value Score (which caused their subsequent deletion from the equation), and also because Size is largely represented by Cost/Mile—the choice was made to analyze the coefficient for Cost/Mile to help come to a conclusion. We are going to use the following estimated regression equation (which we constructed in Part III) for our analysis:

Rubbertech needs to cross the chasm by providing an appealing value proposition to their customers. Therefore, they should not market the RTP as a product but as a solution to a problem. Medium and large plantations need to remove impurities from rubber; however, this process is tedious and painstaking, and not always accurate. Rubbertech can illustrate the RTP’s value proposition by positioning it as a faster and more precise way to remove impurities from rubber, which would, in turn, solve the customer’s problem.

These number will be used for predicting future financial statements later in this case study.

For our initial strategy we wanted to choose a product line that would be most intriguing to customers in this poor economy. To initiate this we focused our products around better gas mileage, safety, and quality. In order to do this we needed to evaluate consumers’ needs and desires when making a high involvement purchase such as a car. We believe the best target market for this type of car would be a middle class family that does not have as much disposable income due to the recession in our economy.

According to perceptual maps, the BMW, Honda, and SAAB cars are the main competitors. This is because their positions are close to the Infinity G20 in the map. Individuals view Infinity G20 as a brand for success. Moreover, they think that it’s more attractive as compared to its competitors. However, the BMW is the most prestigious and most quite, according to the perceptual map. SAAB is the most roomy and most quite car, according to the perceptual map. Also in Exhibit 1, most of the respondents perceive BMW as more prestigious than the infinity G20 in the market.

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s several accidents were reported of Ford Explorers equipped with Firestone tires rolling over as a consequence of tires’ failures. By the end of 2000 the death toll was estimated at more than 250, and some

Goodyear¡¦s principal business is the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of tires throughout the world. Its tires and tube sales represent 83 % of 1991 corporate sales of $10.9 billion with corporate wide earnings of $96.9 million. It has its owned Goodyear Auto Service Centers and franchised Goodyear Tire Dealers in supporting its distribution and sale of tires in US.

The industry in which the company operates can be characterized as monopolistic competition. This is because, since there are no barriers to entry in this industry, threats of entry by potential entrants has made the industry some-what competitive. But the brand loyalty gained by the firms through massive advertising has rendered the firms within

But Goodyear dealers were lukewarm about the product, citing the fact that price and the ability to last for longer distances was more of a factor in consumer decision-making. It was a 'boutique' tire, when middle-range products moved the quickest off the shelves (Isaacson 1994: 14). Expanding distribution channels to reach a wider

This means that a slight change in consumer demand can hurt Ford’s profits dramatically. The average accessibility of replacements allows customers the choice to go elsewhere. This strongly suggests that Ford needs to increase customer gratification to deal with outside elements.

Back in 1898, Frank Seiberling created, The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. It is based in Akron, Ohio.

is almost 3 times the number of units to OEMs so the potential here is

2) There are significant differences between the traditional Porsche customer and Cayenne and Panamera customers. The traditional Porsche customer is interested in exclusivity, in having a niche car, different than others. The Cayenne and Panamera customers are also interested in the utility of the car. In other words, they are interested in the storage capacity of the car and in the power of its engine. There are also financial differences between these types of customers. The traditional Porsche buyers have greater financial power in comparison with other buyers. This means that the Cayenne and Panamera customers' purchasing decision process is also based on the price of the car. Therefore,

Customers can make different judgements as regards a brand. Customers put together imagery and the different brand performance to make the judgement (Lane Keller, 2011).