Case Name :      Soren Chemical: Why is the New Swimming Pool Product Sinking? (Brief Case)

Authors :           V. Kasturi Rangan, Sunru Yong

Source :             HBS Brief Cases

Case ID :            4188

Discipline :        Marketing

Case Length :    08 pages

Solution sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

Topics include distribution channels, pricing, and new product marketing. Jen Moritz, the marketing manager for Soren Chemical Co. is struggling with the poor sales performance of Coracle, a new clarifier for residential swimming pools. The performance is puzzling because Coracle is chemically similar to another Soren product that has sold well for treatment of larger pools. Soren distributes the other product B2B through “chemical formulators” serving the commercial pools market — but Soren uses wholesale distributors to sell Coracle. Given the slow start in establishing Coracle as a consumer brand, Moritz suspects that the go-to-market strategy may be flawed, but she is unsure where the problem lies; she examines channel strategy, distribution partners, the Coracle pricing scheme, the threat of competitors’ offerings, and other potential problem sources.