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We have conducted a survey based on women age between 30-60 years old. The main objective of the survey is to observe and study about the publics awareness of our brand and to further understand their buying behavior. The results tabulated from the surveys are used as secondary data to aid in our report’s and decision making process as it provides an accurate source of information. Upon using SOOT analysis, we have analyzed the company’s performance and have come up with a new marketing plan for Pitfall by targeting only a group of consumers using market segmentation.
The marketing mix approach is then applied with the ups (price, promotion, product, place) to gain the brand’s awareness in various areas. With the increase in advertising and publicity, we believe that we are able create more brand awareness ND in return able to boost the sales revenue of Pitfall. Given their exquisite design and good brand equity, consumers have enjoyed our products and tentatively have a higher chance to return to us with many positive feedbacks.
Therefore, our consumer would gladly share their experience with our product and encourage more of their surrounding peers and family to purchase our product through the word of mouth. 2. Company Background Pitfall was incorporated in May 2007 by Marcia Kilgore; a beauty industry Canadian entrepreneur and multi-tasking mum, and is based in London, United Kingdom. As a lit-tasking mother, Kilgore has to Juggle motherhood and work, and she found herself feeling desperate to find a way to stay in shape.
Therefore, she decided to invent a pair of shoes which would give busy women a Workout’ while they walk. Marcia Kilgore then further collaborated with two bohemianism experts, Dry. David Cook and Darrel James of London South Bank University to create the ultimate Microbreweries Toning Technology. After two-and-a-half years of researching and prototyping, Kilgore finally got her first Pitfall flip flop. When Pitfall was first launched in 2007, it quickly became the top ‘must-have item of the summer’.
It appeared on many magazines like Newsweek, Times, The Independent Newspaper, and even made it onto Opera Wineries list of ‘Favorite Summer Things’. Their limited edition Gladiator Sandal which was exclusively sold on Net-A-Porter was also their fastest-selling footwear ever. Apart from the health benefits that Pitfall shoes bring, it can also multi-task as a lower-body toner which is suitable for any consumers who are aiming to have a pair of toned and slim legs.
As fashion keeps evolving with every season, Pitfall constantly come up with new ideas and new design to keep up with the fast pace changing fashion. The company has successfully expanded into winter boots, clogs, sheepskin slippers and more glamorous sequined sandals that can be worn for many occasions. The original, patent-pending triple- density Microwaveable middle (Figure 1) is now engineered into all of the range of sandals, slippers, sneakers, clogs, boots and shoes. It is sold over 50 countries, and is the fastest-growing function-meets-fashion footwear brand in the world (Figure 2).
Such that more people will heard about us, know about us and feel about us and our wonderful product. By creating brand awareness, it would in turn generate more sales and revenue for the company. Apart from the branding and revenue portion, the 21st century has been moving ouch fast pace that people are having the lack of time to keep a balance lifestyle hence we aim to provide consumer and people around the world with a pair of shoes that could bring them maximum comfort and keep them healthy and in shape. 5.
Market Overview The market which Pitfall is operating in is the footwear with technology market. Footwear with technology refer to footwear specially design for the comfort of consumer feet. Pitfall is dedicated for women working adults and housewives who cannot afford to exercise regularly. However, by wearing Pitfall, it functions as a pair of footwear that brings fitness to consumer. Other direct competitors include School, Checkers and others new competitions. According to the market research company NYPD Group Inc. Formerly, National Purchase Dairy), Pitfall has shown a phenomenal growth in sales. The overall sales in department stores, national chain, shoe chain, million in 2009. Recently, NYPD have released their “Toning/Shaping Footwear study, which shows the attitude and behavior of the owners equipped with both and without toning footwear. 65% of the respondent states that the scientifically proven fitness claims is the main reason that influence their purchase. Due to the orthopedic benefits, Pitfall has become a popular footwear among the consumers.
We must acknowledge that Singapore of our current generation have been given the high standards of today’s education and health systems in Singapore will be able to learn more about health care issues and having a good pair of strong legs may be seen as a norm in many healthy and normal Singapore’ life. Eventually, Singapore will realized the importance of taking care of their legs only when they come across real life examples such as those complains that they heard from some senior citizens regarding those chining pains in their legs.
Therefore, it is good to start taking care of our legs as early as when you are taking your first steps in life. Given our nation’s high standards of living with greater emphasis being put into the healthcare education these days, Singapore tend to go for a healthier lifestyle. They eventually understood the importance of being healthy and stay fit. However, too many Singapore are busy with their hectic schedule and none seem to be able to find time to do some workout.
Pitfall has been launching their shoes and scandals mostly under the range of $100 – 120 SAG such that it could be made affordable to more people. The cost of a pair of Pitfall is generally lower than the cost of a gym membership (monthly) and it is made to provide ease in our daily life, saving time yet giving the maximum comfort and force user indirectly to exercise even simply by walking. With the installation of the Microwaveable technology in every category of our shoes, consumers can have all the different type of footwear yet benefiting from the same technology. . Market Size Figure: show that the market share in US are dominated by School and Checkers with he largest market share however Pitfall with a market share of 1 1. 3% are gradually catching up over the years. According to French Textile News “reported on April 19 2012 and based on NYPD Research Pitfall Thailand Institute report in 2010, the French sports and sportswear market size of 3. 8 billion euros (including tax), the size of the sports and athletic shoes for 2 billion euros (including all taxes)”.
Data in 2009 shows that initially there is an increase of 2% and follow by a decline of 2% at a later of the year 2009. NYPD states that the market growth reflects the needs of sports thus threaten the female sportswear purchasing power and cause the rise of the market, especially in the field of sports footwear. According to statistics, last year the proportion of women Pitfall Electra more than ages of 14 years old buy athletic growth is not due to the average selling price regulation, but the number of consumers is increasing.
According to statistics, female sportswear procurement activities in 2010 have increased by 4%. French woman between the ages of 16 to arrears old last year had purchased at least one sportswear and a pair of sports shoes. Last year the average French consumer to buy sportswear and shoes is 4. 9% and the total Pitfall Rookie average annual consumption is 128 euros. Online shopping for French sportswear and shoes has increased by 7 percent in 2010. 17 sites survey by the NYPD Europe Division of such products in 2010 has turnover of more than five million euros. . Market Potential While Pitfall first started out selling to women, they extended their product width by including Men’s footwear in 2008 and Children’s footwear in 2010. The two modes of purchase for Pitfall’s footwear are online and retail shopping. Pitfall’s online website brings consumers the latest information about the company’s footwear design and online purchases also includes home delivery. Although the AND study shows that 62% of women are aware of footwear with toning effects. Only 37% of the men surveyed have this knowledge.
Also, women are twice as likely as men to own a pair of shoe with toning effects. However, the study also show an increasing number of men purchasing such shoe product. Studies have shown that knee, heel and lower back pain problems exist in both men and women. In addition, there is an increase in Singapore becoming more health conscious. These trends are favorable to Pitfall entering the market offering footwear that promotes personal well-being. Pitfall has the opportunity to come up with designs to cater to the various age groups. 8.
Market Structure Pitfall was initially created to introduce toning shoes to women. The company’s initial mission and objective was to introduce a product which would be able to help women lose weight on the go. Commencing Pitfall’s opening in 2007, it ventured into an oligopoly market where only a few companies are known to be producing toning shoes. Being in an oligopoly market, Pitfall were faced with a small group of competitors in the market such as Schools, Hush Puppies and Sketchers. This means that consumers will be highly sensitive to pricing and marketing strategies use by the competing companies.
However, having fewer competitors is also advantageous for Pitfall as this means the company will obtain a bigger market share in comparison to other companies selling normal footwear. Pitfall doing their marketing research and knowing the importance of marketing in their situation, knowingly that by spending big in their advertising campaigns will be money well spent. Therefore, marketing campaigns of Pitfall advertisements appear about anywhere possible, from bus wraparounds, subway cards, outdoor billboards, phone kiosks, and print advertising in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Pitfall knows the importance of effective marketing by setting aside a considerable budget on advertising campaigns. In United Kingdom and the United States, Pitfall’s advertisements can be seen in This promotional strategy can also be used in Singapore to create more brand awareness. On top of that, Pitfall were also able to tap into their arsenal of weapons f their founder, who has an enterprise of other companies under her control. By using cross-promotion via other empires, visitors can purchase Pitfall directly on the Bliss website while moisturizer shoppers can also read new obtaining to Pitfall on the Soap and Glory site.
Next up are the highly population social network site of Faceable and Twitter in these ever shrinking world. Being able to gather buyers from all around the globe into one space became a reality with the technology today and through social media such as Faceable and Twitter where people are able to gain liable information on various product . That’s when Pitfall through these media are able to get opinions from people in a short span of time, gather feedbacks as well as to promote new products or even throw clearance sales whenever they want with a few movements of their hands.
Credit to our evolving technology, Pitfall are able to gather valuable feedbacks from users, feedbacks are very important in any organizations that are looking to sustain long to become a household brand in people lips. Other than traditional marketing and advertising, Pitfall can also make use of erect marketing via social network platform such as Faceable and Twitter to engage the public ,fostering better brand interaction and gaining more advocates in the long run. These days, consumers want to feel a connection.
An engaged consumer is more likely to buy after seeing user generated content from friends on media sites. Sharing experiences and demonstrating good services at a level the “new’ consumer understands is vital to social media marketing a success. 9. Trends 9. 1 Demographic Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, gender, race, occupation, and other statistics. Changes in Singapore demographic environment will have an effect on the sales revenue of Pitfall.
Pitfall is mainly seen on the feet of women who are between the age of 30-60. According to our survey, it is shown that 69% of women that we surveyed are aware about the brand but only 33% out of the hundred actually owns a pair of Pitfall themselves. As the majority of the population is made up by the people within the age group of 25-54 (Figure 3), greater emphasis has to be put into the marketing of Pitfall to entice more consumers within that age group itself to buy the sandals.
People within this age group are often less willing to buy something so expensive as they are more saw and skeptical and will tend to compare products with other brands. As seen from our survey, only 59% of them agree to buying a scientifically proven, health beneficial sandal which the price ranges from $120-200 , while 41% were not willing to pay for it. And out of the 41% who were not willing to pay the sandals for that price, the majority of them feels that pricing it at $80 or less would be a more acceptable figure.
Therefore, to create a new market opportunity, we can increase the brand’s wariness and throw campaigns that would appeal to the younger generation as people in Singapore. Figure 3: Age Distribution of the Resident Population, taken from Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011 Population Trends report, peg 12. Figure 4: Survey statistic of women in Singapore who either own a pair of Pitfall or not Figure 5: Survey statistics of women in Singapore who are either aware of the brand Pitfall or not.
Figure 6: Survey statistics of women in Singapore who are either willing to make a purchase of a pair of footwear (all brands) that cost $120 to $200 Markets require buying power as well as people. The economic environment comprises factors affecting consumer purchasing power and spending patterns. As the economy in Singapore fluctuate over the years, the purchasing and spending power of the consumers’ changes accordingly. This can be illustrated in the graph below.
However, the drop in the spending power of the consumers in Singapore, (during the second half of the year in 2008 to the beginning of the year of 2009) has not lead to a decrease in the sales revenue of athletic specialty and sporting goods. According to the market research company NYPD Group, it shows a significant growth in the profit. Sales in the departmental stores, relating to the athletic specialty/ sporting goods, rose from $17 million in 2008 to a staggering figure of $145 million in 2009. Figure 8: Singapore GAP growth rate, taken from Trading Economics website. Http:// www. Tragicomedies. Com/) The natural environment involves natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers, or affected by marketing activities. Environmental concerns have grown. In many cities around the world, air and water pollution have reached dangerous levels. Several trends in the natural environment include the shortage of raw materials, increased pollution, and increased governmental intervention. Renewable resources, such as forests and food, also have to be used wisely.
As rubber is the main material that is used to make Pitfall, in the future if the world is facing a the lack of raw material may affect the production of the sandals thus not being able to mass produce the product as and when the company wants. On the other hand, Pitfall itself is made up of mostly rubber and rubber itself is non-biodegradable hence it could lead to additional land pollution. Hence, conserving renewable resources, Pitfall has collaborated with other companies to protect the environment.
For instance, Pitfall partnered with Earthy Network Philippines (NP) to help ease the create reusable tote bags and give them out for free for every two pairs of Pitfall being purchased. These reusable bags are also sold to other companies, organizations and establishments as part of Pitfall’s effort to preserve the environment. 9. 4 political Marketing decisions are strongly affected by developments in the political environment. The political environment consists of laws, government agencies and erasure groups that influence or limit various organizations and individuals in a given society.