Kingsford Charcoal

Although Kingsford Charcoal is the top dog in the charcoal grilling market, the business has been stuck in a stalemate as gas grilling has raised its game to another level. Kingsford Charcoal has steadily increased its market share in the charcoal category and currently (year 2000) owns 57.7% of it, but in order to move its business to the next level, I believe it needs to try to increasing its prices and target its advertising to compete with gas grilling. In a blind taste test, it was proven that participants prefer the taste of charcoal-grilled BBQ over gas grilled  BBQ. Knowing this, Kingsford needs to remind consumers of the great smoky flavor of  charcoal-grilled BBQ, along with the experience that goes with grilling it.

IKEA

A few years ago, I was moving into a new apartment and wanted to buy a new bed. Without much thought, I decided to go to IKEA so I could conveniently transport the parts to my place and put the bed together. The bed looked fine once it was put together, but it was not long before I started getting backaches and the bed frame started getting bent up..and let me clarify, at the time I was 5'8" and 160 lbs so there's no reason a bed should not have been sturdy enough to hold my weight. Needless to say, I didn't like the bed, but I was a poor college student so I dealt with the discomfort.

After discussing the case in class and looking back on my experience with IKEA, I learned that IKEA's success has come from its uniqueness in the furniture industry. IKEA's differentiation strategy has pros and cons for the consumer which balance out from functional perspective of the product. However, when you add the uniqueness factor in, IKEA stands out way above the competition.

So you might be asking, should IKEA change or extend its strategy to continue its rapid growth?...And I say yes. IKEA's got a great thing going on with its shipping and convenience for transporting the parts, but what if it provided in-home assistance for putting together the beds at a premium cost? Also, what if it provided a bit higher quality beds and furniture at a premium? I ask because I wonder if I could have put my bed together a little differently to prevent it from falling apart as quickly. Maybe I could have tightened a screw a bit more or slightly positioned a piece a bit differently. Maybe I put together the bed fine, and the parts were pieces of junk. I really don't know for sure, but I think IKEA could benefit by extending its services a little bit without altering its image.