Case Study:
A high ranking team from Fuji Heavy Industries, owners of the Subaru brand, recently said that Oman will remain a top priority market for the company in the coming years. The market share for Subaru in Oman is around two per cent which is double its global market share.
The officials were in the sultanate for a meeting of the distributors to discuss ways to improve the market share of Subaru vehicles.
Speaking on the occasion, Hidetoshi Kobayashi, corporate vice president and chief general manager said, "Oman has emerged as the best-selling market for Subaru in the GCC and Africa, prompting us to focus more on this market for further growth in sales."
He added that the company plans to achieve one per cent growth by 2015 in the GCC. Kobayashi said that the distributors' meet was held in the sultanate keeping in mind the growth prospects Subaru has here and the brand recognition that it enjoys here. "
"The OTE Group has been doing a good job of promoting our cars in Oman through different channels of marketing, which has resulted in good sales figures. OTE is trying to make the brand Subaru a very recognisable one."
He said that in 2009, the sales figures increased by 16 per cent in the US and by 86 per cent in China compared to figures in 2008. "The year 2010 looks promising and we will be aggressive and competitive to live up to what other brands have to offer," added Hidetoshi.
The company officials said that the much-anticipated sports coupe (code named FT-86), which is being manufactured in association with Toyota, will be launched in 2013. Toyota has a 16.5 per cent stake in Subaru.
The coupe is expected to be a rear wheel drive sporting a 2.0lt boxer engine. "The sports coupe will be sold in Japan as a Toyota car and overseas as a Subaru brand."
Subaru will continue to focus on its established models, namely the Legacy, which comes in two variants - 2.5lt and 2.5lt GT, and the Impreza XV, WRX and STI models.
"There is a strong demand for leisure cars in Oman and with these models we are serious about tapping the luxury car market." Subaru will have boxer engines in all its upcoming cars for an all wheeldriving experience that is effortless. The company is also planning to introduce eco-friendly vehicles in the market.
The current line-up of models include Imprezaand Legacy in the sedan category and Outback, Forester and Tribeca in the crossover SUV category. Subaru was also the only brand to pick up a top safety rating for all of the vehicles mentioned above.
Your Task:
As a Marketing Consultant, you have been approached by theCorporate Vice President and Chief General Manager of Subaru , to develop a marketing plan for Subaru to achieve further growth in sales and market share for the next five years in the Omani market.
Key Areas for Consideration:
• Market situational analysis - especially the competition
• Segmentation and targeting
• Objectives
• Marketing mix strategy (product/branding, price, promotion and distribution strategies)
• Implementation
• Evaluation and Control
• Sales Forecast
• Budget