Commodum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6750 words

Commodum - Essay Example In 2008 Blair Connolly, Inc. was issued U.S. Patent Number 7,413,250 for the utility of a back support design. â€Å"Commodum† Latin for â€Å"comfort† is the first ergonomic office chair created that utilizes the patented back support design. The patent gives the company a competitive advantage over competitors because they have a novel design that cannot be imitated in the United States. The product will be strategically positioned as a high-end ergonomic office chair and promotional methods will highlight emotional benefits including: comfort, relaxation, vitality, status, and luxury. Commodum will be introduced using a skimming pricing strategy and consumers’ will most likely consider the product a high involvement purchase. Direct marketing will highlight important attributes such as service, quality and warrantee to help reduce cognitive dissonance often associated with high-involvement purchases. The ergonomic furniture giants in the U.S. primary consist o f two companies Herman Miller and Steelcase and have the two best ergonomic chairs on the market. The Herman Miller â€Å"Aeron† is considered the â€Å"gold standard† in ergonomic seating, which everything else is compared to it. The Steelcase â€Å"Leap† is more luxurious than the Aeron and has a slightly higher price. These companies have targeted the business office furniture segment and have been very successful. It would be more difficult for Commodum to penetrate the business office furniture market and would be impossible to compete in terms of price. Also, with the current economic environment businesses will be less likely to make major purchases on a new product that do not have a brand reputation established. However, home furnishings consumers are less aware of brand name and are a better market segment for Commodum to target. More specifically, Generation Xers and Baby-boomers are the best target market for the company because they spend more on ho me furnishings than any other generations. Baby-boomers and Xers are more likely to have discretionary income and home furniture purchases have been found to be discretionary in nature. Throughout history, there has been a correlation between furniture purchases and life stages, including: getting married, buying a house, children moving out and retiring. Baby Boomers and Generation Xers are experiencing life a stage associated with home furnishings consumption and makes them a powerful target market for Commodum. Additionally, recent socio-economic trends have created a growing home office furniture market and many Baby Boomers will be working longer than expected and will be using home offices more frequently. Technological advancements have led to a â€Å"hiving trend† and consumers are using their home as hub for communication. In conclusion, there is great opportunity for Commodum to succeed in the growing home office furniture Market, but will not be without barriers. H erman Miller and Steelcase may focus more promotional efforts on the home furniture consumer and may be hard to compete with. However, the novelty of the patented design makes the product unique and is the key component to strategy. With strategic positioning and promotion efforts San Diego should be a good market to launch Commodum. Historically, the housing market has been a market driver for home furnishing consumption and if the company can time the launch of Commodum with the housing market recovery it could lead to a lucrative business opportunity. 2. Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦1 2. Table of Contents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 3. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 3.1 Background of the Problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦