CHANDRAGUPT INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, PATNA

AQUALISA QUARTZ:SIMPLY A BETTER SHOWER

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Guided by: Prof. G.K MURTHY

BY GROUP-8
 Ayush Ravi
 Maaz Ahmad
 Shivam Sahay
The U.K Shower Market- In 1990s:
 In U.K. every home had one Bath Tub.
 Only 60% Of homes had showers.
 Archaic plumbing of Victorian era was still used
which included a water tank, a separate boiler and
cylinder to store hot water.
 Problems associated with Archaic plumbing:
a) Variation in temperature.
b) Varying pressure
 Types of showers:-
 Above problems were typically addressed through
 Electric showers the use of either electric showers or special U.K.
 Mixer shower valves Showers valves.
 Integral power shower.
1. Electric Showers-

 Heating elements instantaneously heated the water to the required temperature,

eliminating the need for a boiler to store hot water.
 Convenient for small bathrooms, the electrical components were usually
mounted in a bulky white box that was visible in the shower stall.
 It did nothing to address the poor water flow of many showers in U.K. homes.
 Aqualisa sold mostly under a separate brand name, the ‘Gainsborough’ brand.
2.Mixer Shower Valves-

 Valves came in two types : Thermostatic- It control temperature automatically,

Manual- It requires users to manually find the right temperature.

 Installing a mixer valve meant excavating the bathroom wall, because it make
take up to 2 days to setup.

 Adding booster pump to boost water pressure (cost € 350 to € 600).

 Core Product: Aquavalve609 (thermostatic), Cost : € 155 Price to manufacturer

and sold to retail for € 675 to € 750.

 Sales: 60,000 units per year, Image : high-quality and reliable.

3. Integral Power Showers-
 It consisted of a single compact unit that combined a thermostatic mixer valve
and a booster pump.

 It provide up to 18 litres of blended water per min., it had to be mounted in the

shower, resulting the presence of bulky box on the wall.

 These units were regarded as being less reliable than a mixer shower and booster
pump combination.

 The Aquastream Thermostatic was Aqualisa’s primary product.

 It cost € 175 Price to manufacturer and sold to retail for € 670.

 Sales: 20,000 units per year, it was Aqualisa’s strongest selling shower in the
power category.
Problems regarding showers:-
I. Poor pressure & varying temperature
II. Hard to turn valves
III. Leaky seals
IV. Break down
V. Low brand awareness

Although, various problems get solved after the introduction of

electronic showers but still customers were facing problems in terms of
above discussed issues.
AQUALISA
• Strong reputation in the market.

• Known for top quality showers, as a premium brand and better service.

• Ranked two in mixing valve category and three in overall UK’s shower market in
terms of market share.

• In 1998 Rawlinson joined the company when it was growing with a good pace of
5% to 10% but he was still worried due to eroding PODs.

• Lots of research are conducted and attempts are made to innovate a shower which
actually solves the issues of consumers and provides a competitive edge.
 SWOT
Strength- Weakness-
 Strong reputation in the U.K. shower market.  Low sale in Trade shop and
 High Market share Showrooms.
 Strong emphasis on R & D  Expensive product image.
 High innovation in technology  10% of Aqualisa shower is
defected.
Opportunity-  Low brand awareness
 Typically low pressure and Threat-
fluctuations in temperature of U.K.  Plumbers are loyal to single brand
shower valves. and distrusted innovation.
 Rare real breakthrough in the shower  Other companies were catching up to
market. Aqualisa product quality.
 40% of U.K. homes don’t have  Dependency of Consumer to the
showers. plumbers.
4P ANALYSIS
PRODUCT PRICE PLACE PROMOTION

Showers with Premium price, Trade Shop Advertisement

various categories. Standard price and Showrooms (Brochure), Web
Types of showers- Value price. DIY Outlets
Electric Shower
Mixer Shower
Power shower
 MARKET ANALYSIS
COMPANY ANALYSIS
 UK shower manufacture.
 It have breakthrough in shower technology by producing “The Quartz”
 It have strong reputation in UK shower market.
 It have been Producing premium product in shower market. 

CUSTOMER ANALYSIS
 Individuals
 DIYers
 Developers
 Plumbers
COLLABORATOR ANALYSIS CONTEXT ANALYSIS
 Outlet  In UK, everyone had a bathtub, only 60%
 Developers had showers.
 Trade shops  It is rare an innovation in shower
 Showrooms production.
 Distributors

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
 Triton has the biggest market share (30%).
 Aqualisa and Gainsborough market share is the 3rd largest
(18%).
 For the Electric Showers product, Aqualisa and Gainsborough
has 2nd biggest market share (16.9%) .
 STP-
 Segmenting-
UK Niche Market Shower

 Targeting-
Direct consumer
DIY market
Developers

 Positioning-
Leading in Shower Technology
that have top quality shower,
premium brand, and great service.
U.K. Shower Sales, reason for Installation-
Shower Selection for Mixer Showers-
 Pricing Segment-
 Premium Segment Consumer-
 Shopped in showrooms
 Granted high performance and service
 Style determined selection
 Value Segment-
 concern with convenience and price
 Avoid solutions that required any
excavation
 Product selection rely on plumber
 Concerned with convenience and
price
 Standard Price Segment-
 Emphasize performance and service
 Product selection rely on plumber
 Do-it-yourselfers Segment-
 Shopped at large retail outlets
 Interested in inexpensive models that
were easy to install, even though
bulky and unattractive
 Overwhelming choice : Electric
showers Popular among landlords &
apartments- dwellers
U.K. Shower Market, by Installation Method
(Mixer Showers Only)
U.K. Shower Market, by products & channel
(Total Units Sold, 2000)
 The Quartz Shower Valve
The are 2 versions-
 The Quartz Standard Shower
 The Quartz Pumped Shower
To install the Quartz shower–
 The plumber had to identify a physical space to accommodate
the remote processor.
 The processor contained the thermostatic mixing valve and
pump.
 The device could be mounted horizontally, vertically, or on its
side, depending on space constraints.
With Quartz technology–
 Installation time of a half-day.
 Plumbers were finding that the install was so straightforward.
 The Quartz shower provided efficient and reliable water pressure and
Diffusion of Innovation

CHARACTERISTICS QUARTZ

Complexity Easy

Compatibility Moderately compatible

Relative advantage Not superior

Observability Hard to communicate

Trialability Not triable

Product levels-
POTENTIAL PRODUCT BODY JET
AUGMENTED PRODUCT • ONE TOUCH CONTROL
• AUTOMATIC TEMPERATURE
CONTROL
• REMOTE ONTROL
EXPECTED PRODUCT • EASY INSTALLATION
• OPTIMUM WATER PRESSURE
• NO FLUCTUATIONS IN
TEMPERATURE
BASIC PRODUCT ELECTRONIC SHOWER
CORE PRODUCT SHOWER
PROBLEM-
High innovation & technology but low in sales: Instead of good response during test marketing the initial sales results were not good.

Alternative strategies:

• Targeting the consumers directly:

Pros: It will help to build a powerful consumer brand.
Cons: High cost
• Targeting DIY sheds:
Pros: It increase the sales volume like Gainsborough.
Cons: It will not be easy to climb back
• Targeting developers:
Pros: It will help to familiarize more number of plumbers with product.
Cons: More demand of discounts by developers and time lag to reach the consumers
 RECOMMENDATIONS
 Persuading the plumbers-
Reasons:
a) As we can see before, 53% of purchase is either done by plumbers or customers
who take inputs from plumbers.
b) Plumbers are not ready to adopt the innovation and at the same time, 54%
installations are done by independent plumbers.
So, it is necessary to make the plumbers inclined for Aqualisa quartz through
demonstrations, workshops including monetary or non-monetary benefits.

 They should make some changes related to Developers-

a) Make a contract.
b) Give some incentives
 As it is mentioned that 90% of time sale people are involved in maintaining the
existing customers only, so there is need to make attempts to find new customers
also for Aqualisa quartz.

 Give discounts to consumers, if they buy in bulk.

 Bring the Brand experience to customer through its marketing activities, so that
customer can feel the simplicity of Quartz shower.

 As a term strategy there should be focus to increase the sales through

showrooms also, as it involves high end products.
QUESTIONS,COMMENTS,CONC
ERNS?

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