Marketing Research Question
You have been hired by Acme Wholesaling, Inc. to provide research to determine the likely success of a new product that it plans to market. Acme Wholesaling, Inc. wholesales various garments and accessories through street vendors in New York City. These items include umbrellas (for when it rains) and hats, gloves, and scarves (for when it is cold). The street vendors are small-time retailers that resell these items to the public. Many of these vendors establish their carts in Central Park and other park grounds in Manhattan.
An employee of Acme Wholesaling, Inc. has come up with an idea involving the sale of picnic blankets through these vendors for when the weather is nice and people want to sit out in the park. Acme Wholesaling, Inc. has a manufacturer lined up who will make these blankets in wool and cotton blend in various sizes, depending upon the order from Acme Wholesaling, Inc. The company would then resell these to the vendors. Although the ultimate consumer of these blankets is the individuals in the park, Acme Wholesaling, Inc. does not deal with them directly. They work solely through the street vendors.
Your job is to provide enough validation for the idea that Acme Wholesaling, Inc. can convince the street vendors to carry this new product on their carts.
Throughout this course, you will be working on various aspects of a research plan for the scenario company: Acme Wholesaling, Inc. This is the Key Assignment that you will be contributing to every week. The final assignment will be submitted in the form of a PowerPoint presentation at the end of the course. The following sections will be part of the final key assignment:
• Secondary Sources:
• Literature Review:
For this assignment, perform secondary research to uncover at least 3 items of secondary data that will be relevant to at least 1 or more of your research questions. Be sure to include the following:
• These data can be statistical or narrative; they can be projected, current, or historical.
• They should be listed along with the specific source from which those data originated, using proper APA citation format.
• Accompanying each item of data should be a brief, 1-paragraph explanation of the relevance of the data statement to the research questions that you developed in Phase 1 for Acme Wholesaling, Inc..
• Provide an introductory paragraph that restates the research questions that you designed in Phase 1. Make any revisions that you see fit, taking into account instructor feedback from Phase 1.