STICKJAW CHEWING GUMS

As the Brand Manager in charge of "StickJaw" chewing gums, you have a task at hand. You have been in charge of the brand for the last 12 months and the performance in these 12 months has made you contribute significantly to the sticky eyeball ratings of naukri.com. In desperation, you have consulted your boss, who is famous for his one-liners. Predictably, he gave you one - "If you don't get your segmentation fundas clear, this is what will happen". "StickJaw" is the best quality chewing gum in the market. All consumer ratings give it a score that is much higher than that given to competitors. It has a price that is 25% more than its two main competitors. In addition, there are brands classified as "Others" whose price is half of "StickJaw". However, of late, the brand "CudChew" has made huge inroads into the market share of "StickJaw". Data to help you analyse the situation is given in the Exhibits. Exhibits 1 & 2 give you the market share data for 2005 and 2006. Exhibits 3 & 4 give you the output of the annual study conducted at retail outlets. This study maps the transactions conducted at the retail outlet for chewing gum buyers and classifies them into one of the categories as described in the Exhibit. This data has been collected from a sample size of 10,500 in 2005 and 13,500 in 2006. The figures given alongside each brand shows the number of transactions that occurred for the brand.

Your assignment: 1. Undertake a behavioural segmentation exercise and identify the various market segments (and their relative sizes) in the chewing gum market for the years 2005 & 2006. What significant changes in segment composition are observed? Map the trends in served market share for the 4 brands in all the segments from 2005 to 2006. What significant inferences can be drawn? What significant inferences can be drawn by correlating the served market share movements and changes in segment composition between 2005 & 2006? Based on the analysis from Answer Three above and using the Costing technique of Variance Analysis, what alternatives are available for "StickJaw"? Which of these alternatives would you recommend and why? Clearly support your recommendations from the data analysis of the first three questions. So that naukri.com can be ignored for some time.

2. 3. 4.

If you are making any assumptions, please state them. You may assume that the sample chosen for the mapping of transactions at the retail outlet is representative of the universe and is statistically significant. Best of Luck!

Exhibit 1

Market Share (2005) Brand\Zone Stickjaw CudChew StickEmUp Others All India 38.14% 34.87% 24.44% 2.55%

Exhibit 2 Market Share (2006) Brand\Zone Stickjaw CudChew StickEmUp Others All India 32.67% 37.73% 26.12% 3.48%

Exhibit 3 Transactions at Retail Outlets (2005) Transaction >

Consumer asks for a brand and takes it

Consumer takes brand given by shopkeeper

Consumer asks for a brand which is out of stock & does not buy

Consumer
specifies a price

Brand Stickjaw CudChew StickEmUp Others

and takes a brand within the price limit

2,177 640 0 11

749 2,709 2,233 70

850 9 5 0

229 305 327 186

Exhibit 4 Transactions at Retail Outlets (2006) Transaction >

Consumer asks for a brand and takes it

Consumer takes brand given by shopkeeper

Consumer asks for a brand which is out of stock & does not buy

Consumer
specifies a price

Brand Stickjaw CudChew StickEmUp Others

and takes a brand within the price limit

2,802 420 0 8

712 4,216 3,066 108

590 27 19 0

305 432 440 355