Boots is one of the best
known and most respected retail names in the United Kingdom for providing
health and beauty products and various services, operating in 130 countries
worldwide with 1300 stores. It has a professional hair-care line consisting of
shampoos, conditioners and styling products developed in collaboration with
United Kingdom's top celebrity hairdressers. The primary objective of the
company has been to drive sales volumes and trade-up consumers from lower-value
brands, while retaining or building brand equity. The UK hair-care market has
over 60 national brands widely available in supermarkets and drug retailers
with not a single brand having more than
90% of the market share.
Boots is also one of the
best known and most respected retail names in the United Kingdom for providing
health and beauty products and various services, operating in 130 countries
worldwide with 1300 stores. It has a professional hair-care line consisting of
shampoos, conditioners and styling products developed in collaboration with United
Kingdom's top celebrity hairdressers. The primary objective of the company has
been to drive sales volumes and trade-up consumers from lower-value brands,
while retaining or building brand equity. The UK hair-care market has over 60
national brands widely available in supermarkets and drug retailers with not a
single brand having more than 9% market share. The overall market is expected
to grow at a rate of 1-3% for the next 5 years. But the opportunity that lies
here for Boots is that currently no celebrity-endorsed products are available
in retail stores. So it could build a new market by adopting celebrity
endorsement strategy. The major competitors of Boots are Procter & Gamble,
Alberto-Culver and L’Oreal. And the major issue with the UK consumers is that
there is no brand loyalty and low differentiation of products. The current
problem statement is that the company needs to decide a promotion strategy for
a line of its professional hair-care products
The other promotional alternatives that
are available to Boots apart from premiums, coupons, and product packs are as
follows. First, there is the use of Rebates where the company can sell to
various people at lower prices, for example, the first one hundred people who
purchase the product. Another alternative is the use of sampling and free
trials, and this can involve a case whereby when they are selling the shampoos
and conditioning gels people can be offered with some free hairdressing to try
the products on the spot. This can be carried out through the process of
offering to wash their hairs. The third alternative can be demonstrations of
the products, which are also considered to be effective in attracting more
customers. In this case, they can be carried out in the designated salons and
where the product is being sold at retail. The fourth promotional alternative
can be contests and sweepstakes that are organized by the company as a way of
boost their sales. Indeed, when the consumers buy the product, they can be
allowed to enter into a contest that will enable them win a collection of
prizes at the end. Finally, there is the use of loyalty programs for the
consumers who remain loyal to the brand, which is also considered to be
effective for a company like Boots. In this case, for example, customers who
have bought the product repeatedly for one year will be given an opportunity to
enjoy loyalty packages that are offered.
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