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Crutchfield, a large U.S. mail-order firm specializing in consumer electronics and personal computers, must evaluate the results of a recent "prospecting" mailing to a rented list of names. A determination of the mailing requires the calculation of the lifetime value of the new customers acquired. Case data on repurchase probabilities (broken out by recency and frequency) support such a calculation. The case can also be used to introduce the RFM (recency, frequency, monetary value) framework for valuing customers.

Astra executives meet to discuss how to counteract the appearance of Korean-made counterfeit athletic shoes in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Astra executives meet to discuss their options with a Venezuelan company that, for seven years, manufactured and marketed athletic shoes under the Astra name without authorization from Astra.

John Meek, general manager of the Ontario Dairy Herd Improvement Corporation (Ontario DHI), has to decide what measures should be taken to reduce the membership decline of Ontario DHI. He must evaluate company information and marketing research to determine what might be the best course of action.

King-Size is a mail-order company specializing in apparel for big and tall men. The case describes their operations in some detail. Issues include appropriate marketing decisions and expansion strategy.

Reviews some elementary statistics on financial ratios that are commonly used to evaluate retailing companies.

Describes a typical organizational structure for retailers and discusses duties of various individuals such as buyer, category manager, etc.

The director of marketing of a recently acquired trust company is faced with preparing a marketing plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Historically, the trust company has not had a marketing or sales function. The director faces some major challenges: establishing marketing's role in the trust company; helping the trust company be more accepted by the bank that acquired the company; helping the trust company move from its unprofitable start-up mode to a profitable operation. She wondered how to begin.

Describes issues that should be considered by a retailer who is thinking of expanding the number of stores from one or two to many.

Market-driven firms stand out in their ability to continuously anticipate market opportunities and respond before their competitors. The market learning processes in these firms are distinguished by: open-minded inquiry based on the belief that all decisions are made from the market back; widespread information distribution that ensures that relevant facts are available when needed; mutually informed mental models that guide interpretation and ensure that everyone pays attention to the essence and potential of the information; and an accessible memory of what has been learned. However, mastery of all the steps in the learning process is rare. Most firms suffer disabilities at one or more stages. Overcoming these learning disabilities and enhancing market learning competency is an important management challenge.

Xerox Corp. is on the verge of launching a new line of photocopiers made largely from refurbished or recycled parts. In spite of this reclaimed content, the company intends to position the machines as "new." The move is a response to growing environmental pressures in Western Europe and throughout the world. The challenge is how to bring the new line to market, especially with respect to pricing and promotion.

Cunard, the world's oldest luxury line company, is confronted with several key issues involving its marketing and marketing communications strategy. One concerns the balance between image/positioning advertising and short-term-oriented promotional advertising/communications on behalf of each individual Cunard ship (i.e., "pull" vs. "push" communications). Related to this is the overall mix of marketing communications tools used by Cunard--media advertising, direct marketing, etc. Another issue is the emphasis in marketing communications between focus on the Cunard corporate identity and focus on the identity of the individual ships. The organizational setting is one of integrating marketing communications for the company and its products. Impacting consideration of the issues is a period of economic conditions adversely affecting sales, along with the effects of the U.S.-Iraq conflict on consumer leisure travel.

An entrepreneurial university student found himself contemplating several decisions that could drastically alter the operations of his summer business distributing household paper products and cleaning supplies in Montreal. These decisions included three ways to expand (enlarge the salesforce, target a new market and pursue a franchise program), and three ways to change the nature of the venture (launch an environmental line, distribute non-perishable foods and reduce delivery quantities). Underlying all of these was the possibility of selling the business and pursuing an opportunity with a multi-national corporation. Students have to evaluate the current strategy and operations and assess the viability of the proposed alternatives.

All markets follow a cycle of growth and maturity, then commoditization and decline. This note argues that while commoditization of an industry may seem inevitable, the better managed firms find a way to make money in the commodity cycle. These firms know how and when to differentiate their products through innovation, service, and customer partnerships; and how and when to offer a "no-frills" product, and seek cost leadership. Four such strategic options are detailed and discussed. A rewritten version of an earlier note.

Identifies six key linkages that distinguish business-to-business marketing; three with respect to the external environment (i.e., derived demand, complex buying process, and concentrated customer base) and three with respect to the internal organization (emphasis on technology, high level of customization, and order fulfillment mechanism), which distinguish business-to-business marketing. These linkages give rise to unique challenges in analysis and execution of marketing decisions. After these challenges are discussed the organization is explained. The three core sections, following this introductory section, reflect the product life cycle theme: Managing New Products, Managing Mature Products, and Managing Product Market Diversity.

Addresses the common mistakes made in new product development and launch. Many times customers' and suppliers' perceptions of the degree of product/market innovation do not match. One of them may view the innovations as a "breakthrough," but the other may view it only as an incremental improvement of an existing solution. Such a mismatch will inevitably lead to faculty commercialization. But even if the match is perfect, this note argues that breakthroughs and incremental new products require quite different new product development processes to enable commercial success.

The French subsidiary of the German publishing company Gruner & Jahr, itself a subsidiary of the Bertelsmann Group, is considering the launch of a new business magazine called CAPITAL. The market looks unattractive, is new to the company, and the financial risk is high. The case describes the various steps in product development. Students must decide on whether to introduce the magazine and how. CAPITAL was subsequently launched and became the business magazine with the largest circulation in Europe.

Student spreadsheet for case IN1266.

Supplement to case UV2850. This case supplements the A case (UVA-M-0452) by describing events in the disposable-diaper market from June 1994 to October 1994.

As a result of a coordinated strategy to establish Levi's as the original, premium American jean, Levi Strauss Japan K.K. has become the leader in Japan. Japan's jeans market is changing: the market is contracting, competition is increasing, and structural changes are occurring in the distribution channel. The issue for Levi is to develop a strategy for success given these changes in Japan.