Case Summary
In 1975 Pioneer maintained relationships with approximately 3,500 franchise retail outlets, the retail outlets benefited from a 5% Pioneer investment in local advertising, and attractive gross margins and credit terms. However, that same year, Pioneer and three competitors were forced to sign consent decrees with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission promising not to engage in alleged anti-fair competition practices – namely requiring distributors to use suggested list prices and punishing those distributors who didn’t comply either through delayed shipments or revoked franchises. A market price war followed the signing of the consent decrees, lowering franchise’s profits while increasing revenue for Pioneer. Pioneer followed
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Pioneer decision to reposition itself from a premium-priced brand into a “mid-priced, mainstream” brand affected the profit margins of its distributors negatively. At the same time, the company’s profit margin increased dramatically. Based on 1976 data from Exhibit 13, an average retailer profit margin was about 3.4%. Pioneer had a comparable profit margin of 3.9% in 1975, based on Exhibit 14 data. This margin increased by almost 3 times in 1976 to 9.4%. This clearly shows how Pioneer benefited from its market repositioning strategy while its distributors profits declined.
Although surveys showed customers were very satisfied with Pioneer products, the sales force was unhappy and felt the lower margins were unacceptable. This drove a few dealers to speak disparagingly about Pioneer products and use bait and switch tactics to create profits for themselves. Mitchell knew the dealers’ support was critical to the current distribution chain, but he couldn’t go back to the old incentives. To continue to be profitable and adapt to the new electronics market, Pioneer reconsider its current distribution network.
Alternative Courses of Action
• Alternative #1 - Shift distribution to department stores:
Shift retail distribution from specialty stores to department stores and catalog showrooms. 75% of U.S. Pioneer’s sales were from hi-fi specialty
Today, Bass Pro Shops is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that specializes in sporting and hunting equipment. The company's current position is a far cry from its modest beginnings in 1971 when the company's founder, Johnny Morris began selling fishing lures on just two shelves in his father's liquor store. With fifty-two retail outlets as well as a number of Outdoor World superstores in the United States and Canada, a user-friendly Web site and extensive mail catalog sales, Bass Pro Shops has become a leading sporting and hunting goods in North America today. To determine how the company achieved this impressive growth, this paper provides an analysis of Bass Pro Shop's corporate strategy using Ansoff's Growth Strategies and Porter's generic strategies for growth, the company's market segmentation and marketing mix. Finally, an assessment of appropriate Bass Pro Shop's marketing metrics is followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.
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1971 to over 800 stores located in 46 states and Puerto Rico. This industry is
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