Goodyear: The Aquatred launch Prateek Rout NIT Rourkela HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASE
BARRY ROBBINS, Goodyear’s vice president of marketing for North American Tires.
STANLEY G. GAULT, Chairman of Goodyear.
Some of the unanswered questions regarding the launch of Aquatred Tire:- Is this the right product?- Is it the right timing for the launch?- Should the distribution channels be expanded?- Will Aquatred be sold through the new markets?
TIRE INDUSTRY
DISTRIBUTION
CHANNELS
COMPANY
BACKGROUND
AQUATRED TIRE
COMPETITIO
N
MARKET FOR
PASSENGER TIRES
AUTO SERVIC
ES
CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
INSIGHTS ON
TIRE INDUSTRYCHALLENGES (1/3)
Radial Tire construction > Bias & bias-belted tire construction
Advantages:• Superior tread-wear, handling and gas mileage.• Radial tires lasted for 40,000 miles whereas bias-belted tires lasted for 20,000 miles.
TIRE INDUSTRYCHALLENGES (2/3)
Increased foreign competition
Import passenger tires unit sales BOOMED:• 1972 – 8%• 1982 – 12%• 1990 – 22%
TIRE INDUSTRYCHALLENGES (3/3)
Nature of demand from consumers and car makers
• Rise in the price of oil.• Rise in cost of manufacturing tires. • Shift of sales towards smaller cars which place less wear on tires.
TIRE INDUSTRY
• Demand for passenger tires grew sluggishly• New tire prices in the U.S. market declined.• Tire-producing capacity outstripped demand.• Rise in the number of mergers and acquisitions
COMPANY BACKGROUND
STATS (1991)
• 41 plants in United States.• 43 plants in 25 other countries.• 6 rubber plantations.• 2000 distribution outlets worldwide.• Total revenue - $10.91 billion.• 105,000 employees.• Ranked third in worldwide sales of new tires.
COMPANY BACKGROUND
INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS• 1977 – Introduced the TIEMPO, the first all-season radical.• 1981 – Launched the EAGLE, the first radial tire offering high-speed traction for sports cars.
COMPANY BACKGROUND
In 1991 Goodyear was still spending $1 million per day on interest payments and earnings were sluggish.
COMPANY BACKGROUND
STANLEY G. GAULT
• Chairman of Goodyear and retired chairman of Rubbermaid.• Installed his own management team.• Sold off assets.• Increased priority on new product development.
MARKET FOR PASSENGER TIRES
SEGMENTATION BASED ON PERFORMANCE AND BROAD-LINE TIRES
• Performance tires were wider than broad-line tires, were more expensive, and provided better traction.• In the U.S. passenger tire market, performance tires represented 25% of Goodyear’s unit sales, 30% of dollar sales, and an even higher percentage of profits.
MARKET FOR PASSENGER TIRES
SEGMENTATION BASED ON REPLACEMENT AND OEM TIRES• Replacement tires were sold to individual consumers, while OEM tires to car manufacturers.• In 1991, U.S. replacement tire sales - $8.6 billion.• In the United States, Goodyear’s passenger tire division derived 65% of its revenues from replacement tires and 35% from OEM tires.
CONSUMER BEHAVIORCONSUMER PURCHASES
• 2 tire purchases – 42%.• 4 tire purchases – 40%.• 1 tire purchase – 16%.• 3 tire purchases – 2%.• Purchases of sets of four tires accounted for 60% of all units sold.
CONSUMER BEHAVIORTIRE ATTRIBUTES
• Tread life.• Wet traction.• Handling.• Snow traction.• Dry traction.
IMPORTANCE
CONSUMER BEHAVIORCONSUMER CRITERIAS
• Price.• Offers fast service.• Can trust personnel.• Store is attractive.• offers mileage warranty.• Brand selection.• Maintains convenient hours.
IMPORTANCE
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
LARGE RETAILERSINDEPENDENT
DEALERS
Strictly wholesalers (10%)
Strictly Retailers (50%)
Wholesalers + Retailers (40%)
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELSRETAIL DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
GARAGES/SERVICE STATIONS
WAREHOUSE CLUBS
MASS MERCHANDISE
RSMANUFACTURE
R-OWNED OUTLETS
SMALL INDEPENDENT TIRE DEALERS
LARGE INDEPENDENT TIRE CHAINS
OTHER(Ex- FULL SERVICE STORES)
GOODYEAR’S INDEPENDENT DEALERS
Sales organization for independent dealers was organized into 28 districts, each with a district manager and three sales managers
Area sales manager made sure:• Dealer orders were placed properly.• Information provided about market trends. • Advices offered on operations.• Complaints are handled.
•In 1989, 70% of Goodyears independent dealers carried only Goodyear tires, while 30% stocked other brands. • In 1991, the estimates were 50-50.
Allowances:• Wholesale allowance.• Merchandising allowance (1.5%).• Advertising accruals (4%).
AUTO SERVICES Services sales $38,000 per month per outlet Margins – 50% service labor & 20 to 25% parts installed. Revenues – 70% service labor & 30% parts.
COMPETITIONVS
• Better brand image among a group of buyers.• Wise spending on advertising and promotion.• Loyal customers.
POD Safety (lowest stopping distance) Durability (60,000 miles >> Industry average) Best wet traction. Appearance: New innovative and contemporary design.
TREAD LIFE OF 60,000 MILES
SURVEY REVEALS:CONSUMERS WERE
MORE LIKELY TO REPLACE COMPETITIOR
TIRES
ONLY PRODUCT OFFERING WET
TRACTION
Average selling price of a tire by Goodyear’s
independent dealer - $75
Conclusion–Reduce the price of the tire to
add some specific buyer groups.
“Aquatred” was priced at 10% premium over
Invicta Gs.
Good year’s suggested price higher than that
suggested by independent dealers.
50% of the sales revenue from
Independent dealers
Is the decision taken by Goodyear to launch Aquatred during winter Olympics is right?
Yes Goodyear’s ads should sell “SAFETY” and not just the tires. Aquatred should be promoted in heavy rainfall regions of the country. Should give “Early bird discounts” to attract customers and give service incentives.
How to Expand independent dealers?
TRAINING AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR NEW ENTRANTS
FRANCHISE-TO-INDEPENDENT CERTIFICATION PROCESS
How to Expand Wholesale channels?
Only limited
stock to be supplied
Limited discount
s
No Incentive
s
Only to few
wholesalers
Launched during the Olympics. Early bird Advantage. Heavy promotions with ads. Organize contests between the games. Opportunity to connect with huge consumer base.
Michelin and Bridgestone launch products earlier than expected. Then:• Reevaluate Prices.• Incentives to dealers for targeted sales.
Sales are lower than anticipated. Then:• Reevaluate the value conveyed.• Make use of wholesale channel.• Use in OEMs.
TIRE INDUSTRY
DISTRIBUTION
CHANNELS
COMPANY
BACKGROUND
AQUATRED TIRE
COMPETITIO
N
MARKET FOR
PASSENGER TIRES
AUTO SERVIC
ES
CUSTOMER
SEGMENTS
INSIGHTS ON
These slides were created by Prateek Rout, as part of an internship done under the guidance of Prof. Sameer
Mathur (www.IIMInternship.com)