Praktrik

BUS 362c: Marketing ResearchTeam: Inception

Praktrik

ContentsAbout Praktrik3History3Mission and Vision3Values3About the product3POD and USPs3Positioning3FOR4Competition analysis5Marks & Spencer5Plan A5Plan A 20205Jasper Living Room Collection6Price range6Market overview7Target Population7Analysis of furniture industry sector7Questionnaire12In-depth interviews15SWOT Analysis16Business proposal16Step 1: Website17Step 2: Social Media17Step 3: Advertising in magazines/online issues and furniture exhibitions17What is May Design Series?18Who attends?18What does it take?18London Design Festival19100% Design19When and where?19What is it about?19How to participate?19Designjunction19When and where?19What is it about?19How to participate?19Magazines/Online issues19Heart Home Magazine19What is Heart Home Magazine?19What does it cost?20Other options:20Website advertising options:20Blog sponsorship:20Appendix21

About PraktrikHistoryFounded in 2010, Sofia, Bulgaria by Petar Zaharinov (designer) and Delyan Spasov (manager) PRAKTRIK is a studio and brand focused on practical tricks. All products are inspired by burr puzzles. They see great potential for facilitating their principles for utilitarian purposes. Their production requires no hi-tech, they can be made of natural, ecological, and healthy (harmless) materials, they are assemblable and disassemblable, they can also be fun. Such puzzle structures are geometrical and constructivist on one hand and mystical on the other. This mystery brings some emotional quality to such designs that we consider very important nowadays. They also stimulate and require some intelligence from the user which is also very important to us. Most of such known puzzle examples are too complicated and their parts are difficult to manufacture; as a result, new ones had to be found. During the geometrical analysis it became clear that this task was just the opposite of the one of a classical puzzle maker because the new solutions had to be as simple as possible and easy to assemble.Mission and VisionThe companys mission is related to sustainability, creativity and mind joggling puzzle furniture pieces. It is a perfect blend between design and functionality. The vision is to offer an alternative approach towards furnishing your home or office space with the twist of using your creativity and brain skills in the process of assembly.

ValuesFocus on practical tricksFunctional & Fun to assembleMade of natural, ecological, and healthy (harmless) materialsThe products are assemblable and disassemblable Do not require additional toolsAbout the productPOD and USPsPraktrik is clever and unique furniture which combines an innovation in the assembling process with a design that can fit into each lifestyle preference. It focuses on creating products that differentiate a lot from the standard trend.PositioningWe have three target groups. The first one is the Unique addicts. The people who belong to this group are aged between 21 and 35 and they are high-educated, career driven and love unique designs. The second one is The Sharks. They are between 30 and 50 years old, high-class, rich people; they use the unique purchases to show their career success. The third target group is called Eco Mommies and Daddies which fits in the range of 25-40. They are family oriented and when they purchase a product, they are mostly considering the practicality.

FORPraktrik is a company that positions itself in the puzzling designer furniture industry. The customer benefits from the purchase by acquiring a unique product, which is offered on the UK market for the first time. This is a new experience in the way of assembling furniture by creating a fun atmosphere.

Competition analysisMarks & SpencerMarks & Spencer is a major British multinational retailer headquartered in theCity of Westminster, London. It specialises in the selling of clothing, home products andluxuryfood products. M&S was founded in 1884 byMichael MarksandThomas SpencerinLeeds. Plan AOn 15 January 2007, M&S launched an initiative, known as "Plan A", to dramatically increase the environmental sustainability of the business within 5 years and expected to cost 200 million.

The plan covers "100 commitments over 5 years to address the key social and environmental challenges facing M&S today and in the future" with the tag-line "Because there is no Plan B". The commitments span five themes: climate change, waste, sustainable raw materials, 'fair partnership' and health.Plan A 2020In 2014, M&S integrated their Plan A into their management processes. They introduced 4 new pillars to focus on Inspiration, Intouch, Integrity and Innovation. The new Plan A is focused entirely on engaging customers and moving towards new business models.Operates: Worldwide, with headquarters in London, EnglandRevenue: 10.03 billion GBPPOD and USPs: One of UK's leading retailers with around 21+ million customers each weekPositioning: High quality within reach.Target group: Upper class and upper middle classFOR: Furniture retailJasper Living Room Collection Model looks very similar, made of the same parts; Includes free shipping and assemblingItems are available in stores people can actually see them before purchasePrice rangeIn order to make a better comparison between the prices of the two companies, we made a table, which includes similar products offered by both Praktrik and M&S, with the respective prices. (1434 Euro = 1133 GBP)

Market overviewPopulation: 64,10 millionGDP: $2.521 trillionPPP per capita: $35760Worldwide statistics PPP per capita for people with High Income( Euro Area) $37156Target Population21-35 years old = 12.73 mil. (19.86%)30-50 years old = 17.59 mil (27.44%)25-40 years old = 12.63 mil (19.70%)Analysis of furniture industry sector

On the next graph we can see the share of retailers that use online sales channels in the UK, and even though theres a 2% drop from 2012, 94% is still a pretty big number.

We can see that overall 74% of the population made purchases online in the UK for 2014. The share of online purchases by gender is 75% to 72%, with men buying a bit more than women.

From this graph we can see that theres a growing trend of looking for furniture online and its getting closer to looking in furniture stores.

The two pictures here show how crucial the online presence is. As we can see, 6 out of 10 people feel more comfortable making a purchase decision after doing online research. However, we can see that only 9% of furniture sales for 2013 were made online.

Why is that so? When so many people shop online and research furniture online, why do their sales account for only 9% of total furniture sales? Finally, heres a division of online buyers by age:

Questionnaire

In-depth interviewsFrom the questionnaire we got some important feedback related to the buyers preference of furniture. Most of the respondents belong to the age range 25-34, having an average income of 1 500-2 000 euro. Most of them do not own a house and their household consists of 2-3 people. We noticed that women tend to be more interested in the questionnaire. They have already purchased or plan to purchase furniture for their place of residence in the future. The main aspects they have in mind before purchasing furniture are design, price, delivery option and ease of assembly. The products they are mainly interested in are coffee tables and dining tables. Another important feedback from the questionnaire is that nowadays people tend to buy furniture online because of the ease of the purchasing process, but they are more likely to make the decision after they take a look at the product in a showroom or a store first.After showing the card with the samples we observed that the respondents prefer the Praktrik furniture style than the standard one. They are willing to pay 300 euro on average for the Praktrik furniture in comparison to 150/200 euro for the standard furniture.From the open answers questions we can divide the respondents in two groups. The first one is not really aware of the furniture trends and styles and thus has no idea of what designer and puzzle furniture is. In those cases some of the answers for How do you understand the term "designer furniture" were special and for How do you understand the term "puzzle furniture"- no idea or furniture in the shape of puzzle. On the other hand, the second group, which is defined by higher income and higher-standing job positions, has a better vision of what the two terms mean. Some of the answers for designer furniture were - Furniture, designed by a designer so it looks creative and different from other furniture and for puzzle furniture Bring the pieces of the furniture together, Possibly furniture that joins together, like in a kitchen corner, e.g. when a kitchen drawer extension fits into another ones gap.

SWOT AnalysisPraktrik

StrengthsWeaknesses

Mainstream pricesWeak research and development

Unique productsNo showroom

Easy to shipNot universal for every lifestyle

Can be produced quickly(if need be)

Product

Stimulates thinking, creativityAssembling can be time-consuming

Fun to build

Eco-friendly

Can be dissasembled easily

No additional tools required

OpportunitiesThreats

New namesSubstitute products

Product can be damaged during delivery process

Increasing the portfolio(product - line)A lot of competitors on the market

Change namesChange in tastes

Strengthen social representativityDecrease in avg income

Improve websiteIncrease in raw material prices;

Business proposal

Our business proposal consists of three parts. We believe that working on one or all of these parts will definitely improve Praktriks image and help them penetrate the UK market. Based on the SWOT analysis, the statistics we found online, and the feedback from the interviews, we were able to conclude that people in the 21st century have access to different media and can gather all sorts of information on the current trends and innovations in the industry online, which is why they are stricter when choosing a product. Praktriks products offer a completely new trend in the furniture industry in the UK by introducing the puzzle technique. Its an innovative and unique way to inspire creativity and challenge ones mind, while having fun, for a reasonable price.Step 1: WebsitePraktrik has a very minimalistic and simplified website, which is not necessarily good, especially in their case. When looking for furniture online, customers want to get as close as possible to feeling the piece of furniture theyre looking at. Praktriks website offers a couple of pictures for each item, but not really a realistic image of what the customer is currently looking at. Most of the well-known furniture retailers offer a 360-view for the majority of the pieces of furniture they offer, and our team believes that including that option will improve the customers experience on the website and maybe bring the buyers one step closer to actually buying the product. Another thing we believe should be improved is the shopping cart. We understand that once again its the simplistic view of the website that Praktrik has focused on, but some parts of the website look vague and confusing. The option of having an image next to the name of the item you ordered is also an idea to be considered, because especially with Praktriks similar names, one can get easily confused. Additionally, there has to be an option for double-checking before you order. Last, but not least, as we have already mentioned in our SWOT analysis, we believe that the names of the products can be changed with more catchy ones that will be easier to remember.Step 2: Social MediaThe social media campaign is not going to be the main focus of our business strategy, but it does play a crucial role in it. We believe that an active Facebook/Twitter/YouTube page will generate more interest in the product and thus more customers. An improvement of the YouTube page might be adding more videos of the product in real environment, or videos of people assembling the furniture and having fun while doing so, so that potential customers can see that if they do research on the product. Another part of our proposal is including a game in the Facebook page. After all, this type of furniture is more or less aimed towards people who have at least a slight interest in puzzles. Including a puzzle-related game, in the Facebook page can be a good way of winning future customers. In addition, there can be a weekly or a monthly rating of the users who got the best scores, which will grant them different gifts for example miniature versions of one of the sliding models, or maybe even a promo code for discount on their order.Step 3: Advertising in magazines/online issues and furniture exhibitionsOur primary and secondary gatherings proved that as much as the online purchase of furniture is increasing in the last couple of years, a lot of the people are still not ready to buy without first seeing the product. However, we believe that Praktrik still doesnt have enough products in its portfolio to have a personal showroom. Whats more, the UK customers are not familiar with the brand, so it wont be advisory to open a showroom without first introducing the brand on the market. A good way to make this happen is the furniture exhibitions held in London. We found detailed information about the May Design Series , as well as two other exhibitions, part of the London Design Festival.What is May Design Series?Taking place on the 17-19 May 2015 at Londons ExCeL, May Design Series is the most commercially focused interiors trade event in the UK calendar. The setting is London: the design capital where the newest creative talent meets the most powerful industry buyers. The time is May: the business end of the European show season, at the point when products are posed for market and orders are ready to be placedWho attends?

What does it take?

London Design Festival100% DesignWhen and where?23-26 September 2015 in LondonWhat is it about?100% Design is the largest and most prestigious design trade event in the UK.How to participate?You can send an enquiry about stands and their prices on their website.DesignjunctionWhen and where?24-27 September 2015 in LondonWhat is it about?designjunction has become recognized as the leading destination for design and has cemented its reputation for presenting world-class cutting-edge design against challenging industrial spaces, breaking the mold of the traditional trade show.How to participate?You can send an enquiry about stands and their prices on their website.

In addition to showing the furniture, Praktrik can give out business cards that contain a QR code with link to a puzzle game or a promotional code for discount on orders.

Magazines/Online issues

Advertising in magazines is another very good and not so expensive option in the UK. Our research on the most popular furniture issues in the UK showed the following: Heart Home MagazineWhat is Heart Home Magazine?

Heart Home is the leading, fully digital magazine in the UK interiors sector. Packed full of affordable inspiration for its readers it also has distinct advantages for the advertiser. Launched in September 2011, British Interior Design magazine Heart Home is a quarterly digital publication celebrating interior decor and lifestyle.What does it cost?

Other options:Website advertising options:1) Sponsored posts in their main editorial stream. This appears on their front page and is then archived and searchable. Heart Home Magazines work with its customers to tailor the content to their audience, then tweet it out to followers. 2) Email newsletter promotion. 3) Other sponsorship opportunities including events. 4) Normal banner advertising: square banner MPU (300250). 5) Competitions. 6) Takeover including email, banner, competition and editorial sponsorship.Blog sponsorship:Heart Home magazine has a fantastic blog too! With daily posts and a team of bloggers, the Heart Home blog is a great source for daily inspiration in between magazine issues. They offer a variety of options for advertising and sponsorship.

Appendix

Puzzle furniture. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2014, from http://www.praktrik.com/?lang=enMarks & Spencer. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marks_&_Spencer#Plan_AMS_PlanA-Rep14. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://planareport.marksandspencer.com/downloads/M&S-PlanA-2014.pdfStatista - The Statistics Portal. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://www.statista.com/Furniture Retail Reality - infographic. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://cylindo.com/blog/news/furniture-retail-reality-etail/May Design Series 2015 - May Design Series - The UK's definitive international interiors show. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://www.maydesignseries.com/100% Design 2014 - Welcome. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://www.100percentdesign.co.uk/Designjunction - London | Milan | New York. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://thedesignjunction.co.uk/To Advertise. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://www.hearthomemag.co.uk/advertise/

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