CASE ANALYSIS

STRATEGIC MARKETING

Soren Chemicals: Why is the New Swimming Pool Product

Sinking

Group Members:

Ankit Garg 13125010

Himanshu Garg 13125020

Rajan Dokania 13125041

Shivani Gupta 13125051

Shrikant Gupta 13125052

Udit Jain 13125055

About Soren Chemicals:

 Founded in 1942, generated revenue of $450 Million in 2007

 Over 350 products, wide range of Industrial chemicals and water-cleaning solutions
 Kailan MW and Coracle are two types of water-clarifiers
 Historically Company had concentrated on B2B sales but now it is investing
selectively in developing products for consumer markets

Kailan MW and Coracle products

 Kailan MW is used primarily for cleaning large commercial pools (capacity 1 million
gallons) and water parks (B2B) while Coracle is used for cleaning residential pools
(B2C)
 Revenue of kailan MW: $6.1 Million in 2006, 7% growth expected in 2007
 Revenue of Coracle: $111000 (7450 units) in 6 months against an annual target of
$1.5 Million (100000 units)

Market Characteristics

 Market Size: $30 Million (2007), relatively mature market

 Distribution Channel: Manufacturer-Formulators-Water parks & Commercial Pools
 Key Influencers: Formulators, water-safety consultants, Pump & Filter manufacturers
 Buyer Behaviour: Professional and understand the use, benefits and importance of
clarifiers for their business, safety of their customers matters most

Reasons for failure:

 Soren has launched Coracle in the month of September which is the last month of
swimming season
 Lack of support from Distributors: Distributors are focused on selling unbranded products/
diluted Kailan to earn better margins on these products. Also, since use of Coracle
will reduce the consumption of other pool chemicals by 20%-30%, its promotion will
result in reduction of their overall revenue and profits.
 Lack of awareness among Pool Owners: No exclusive demand of Coracle from Pool Service
Professionals and contractors
Company’s Dilemma:

1. Does residential pool owners are aware about the benefits of Coracle over its
competitors
2. Per unit prices of Coracle are higher than that of its competitors HydroPill, Clear Blu
and Purity
3. Challenges of pass through sales of distributors and retailers as their margin will take
a hit, if they continue selling Coracle at current price levels

Analysis:

Excel sheet as been attached for calculation part which is attached below and it has following
tabs:

1. Tab1: Potential Market

2. Tab2: Value pricing of Coracle
3. Tab3: Competitive Parity
4. Tab4: Retailers new margin
5. Tab5: Distributors new margin

Soren Chemicals.xlsx

Recommendations:

We are suggesting following recommendations to revive the B2C market for Coracle (Soren
Chemicals):

(a) Aggressive Mailing campaign, advertisements, display counter in trade-shows to

create awareness among pool owners about Coracle and capture the untapped market
of $112.5 mn
(b) Promote the Value proposition of 20-30% savings of pool chemicals by use of
Coracle resulting in higher profits for professionals and contractors
(c) Focus on Lower annual cost compared to ClearBlu ($39.06 vs $56.25) to gain
competitive advantage
(d) Retailers and Distributors should be compensated for their margins as $17.11 and
$22.71 respectively as sale of Coracle will result in losses for them and it should in
accordance with the excel sheet attached above