SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS FOR HYBRID BED MATTRESSES TARGETING OLD PEOPLE WITH HEALTH ISSUES

Answer

Table of Contents

Table of Contents  2

1.0          Introduction   3

2.0          New Product  3

3.0          PESTEL Analysis of Kuwaits Mattress Industry  4

4.0          Consumer Analysis  6

5.0          Competitors and Market Analysis  7

6.0          SWOT Analysis and Porter Five Forces  8

References  10

Situational Analysis for Hybrid Bed Mattresses Targeting Old People with Health Issues

Introduction

When conducting marketing research, it is important to undertake a situational analysis to determine how a new service or product adds value to the customers and society as a whole. According to Ramadan (2019), situational analysis describes the potential customers, assesses competitors, evaluates anticipated growth, and provides a wholesome assessment of the business. These factors determine the selection of marketing strategies. This report acknowledges market gaps and opportunities in the manufacture of mattresses for senior citizens. As a result, it proposes the introduction of a hybrid mattress that offers combined benefits ranging from pressure relief, comfort, value, and firmness (Fountain, 2020). The vision is to provide the best value to the customers. The mission is to create an ultimate mattress that promotes wellbeing among old people. Guided by this backdrop, this report details a situational analysis of hybrid bed mattresses targeting old people with health issues.

New Product

The new product is a hybrid bed mattress targeting the elderly with health issues. Fountain (2020) explains that as people age, natural changes in the body affect their sleep quality and cycle. Likewise, they become vulnerable to chronic health conditions that make it hard for them to have restful nights. Therefore, to improve their sleep quality, it is important to introduce a hybrid mattress that combines all or most of the elements sold as separate packages by current manufacturers. This description reiterates that seniors want mattresses that add value to their lives by providing comfort, firmness, relieving pressure, and responsiveness that aligns with their changing bodies (Cushner, 2020). In addition, elderly customers want products that comfortably accommodate their size and weight. Other considerations the product has to address include supporting different types of sleepers namely stomach, back, and sides.

The current product lines by competitors only focus on one issue. For instance, Winkbed provides the best overall mattress thus the closest competitor to the hybrid mattresses to be introduced. Awara mattresses are famed for their best value yet fail to provide other benefits desired by the elderly (Cushner, 2020). Idle Hybrid brand is best at relieving pain and pressure. Saatva brand of mattresses is best for cooling while Zenhaven is preferred by elderly customers who like comfort. Avacado brand is best for customer who want firm mattresses while Brooklyn Bedding Aurora is most purchased by side sleepers. Unfortunately, the sleeping conditions for the elderly change rapidly thus making these respective brands useful for a short period. Unlike these brands, the proposed new hybrid mattress will combine all these features creating a whole rounded and awesome product that caters for the diverse needs of the elderly people with health issues (Fountain, 2020). Another stunning element is that these brands are manufactured by foreign companies. This is unlike the proposed new product manufactured locally and properly suited to meet local needs.

PESTEL Analysis of Kuwaits Mattress Industry

Consumer Analysis

The target customers for the hybrid mattress can be identified using the segmentation, targeting, and positioning model. Segmentation considers elements such as demographics, geographic, psychographics, and socioeconomic factors. The demographics of target customers include people aged above 65 years (Statista, 2020). Both men and women mostly retired and dependent on pension, investments, saving, government grants or relatives for financial support. They are mostly Arabic but the product is suited for all ethnicities. In regard to psychographic factors, the customers have to be health conscious or at least, want the best possible health during old age. Most of the elderly have sedentary lifestyles meaning that they engage in little to no physical activities. The elderly have less interests and mostly seek validation and love from their relatives and children. Their attitude towards life is relaxed.

Behavioral elements include considering spending and purchase habits, user status, and brand interactions. In the case of the hybrid mattress, the customers are mostly one time buyers while those with multiple homes could become regular buyers. This means their consumption patterns could range from low to medium. The customers want performance and quality products rather than image enhancement. It is certain that satisfied customers will easily become loyal to the hybrid mattress brand. The product will also attract experimenters. The geographical segment to target is Kuwait, and other GCC and MENA countries. The customers likely to show interest in the product are the elderly above 65 years and relatives interested in purchasing the best mattresses for the senior citizens. Statista (2020) reports that the elderly population above 65 years makes up 2.76% of the Kuwaiti population.

Competitors and Market Analysis

Locally, hybrid mattresses will compete against all the mattress manufacturers. This is because some customers prefer using basic mattresses and thus, could opt for any available option. However, the informed customers will look for quality mattresses that enhance their comfort and sleep quality. Considering Porters five forces analysis, the industry has intensive rivalry. The indirect competitors include all mattress manufacturers namely Al Baghli Sponge Manufacturing Company, American Mattress Company, Kuwait Mattress Company, Lama Mattresses, and ANNAS Ali Al-Hazeem Mattress Factory. Indirect rivals include international mattress brands namely Winkbed, Awara, Idle Hybrid, Saatva, Zenhaven, Avacado and Brooklyn Bedding Aurora. Customers can further purchase mattresses online through Mattress Online Kuwait and Alibaba. The principal competitors control a market share of 35% while the remaining market is shared by domestic and international brands.

It is certain that the launch of Hybrid Mattresses will destabilize the market by triggering a shift in forecasted market shares. For instance, the brand is likely to become the most preferred mattress brand among the elderly thus winning over a significant part of the customers. The focus on the elderly will enable the company to capitalize on its key competence thus designing mattresses that meet every need posed by the niche market (Lazareva, 2016). In the coming five years, it is certain that the hybrid mattresses will have achieved significant brand visibility that will endear to the target focus group of customers mostly the elderly. As much as the company targets this market segment, the mattresses will be useful to anyone with health related issues that disrupt their sleep quality.

Regarding management of the supply chain, Hybrid mattresses will have to source its materials from abroad and locally. For instance, most of the raw materials will be sourced from Europe and Asia. As a result, the company might consider subcontracting manufacturing processes abroad to reduce manufacturing costs. The process will reduce supply chain costs. In addition, there will be intermediaries but where possible, they will be eliminated to reduce costs and streamline the supply process.

SWOT Analysis and Porter Five Forces

SWOT analysis for the hybrid mattresses company revealed the following attributes. The company’s main strengths included lower production costs. This is a result of outsourcing of operations to Asian and European manufacturers who are competent in producing the mattresses. The main weakness is that the company lacks experience in this line of business. It will have to hire experts and incur costs for consultation. Opportunities include using online platforms or e-commerce to reach local and international customers at a reduced cost. Secondly, the mattresses can be marketed through social media a cost cutting strategy. However, this strategy will have to be complemented with physical or traditional marketing to reach the target customers segment who are mostly not tech savvy. The biggest threat is intensive rivalry from the incumbents in the industry.

The Porters five forces model identifies elements that determine prospects of an industry. The first element is intensity of rivalry. As discussed in the previous section, the industry is quite competitive thus, high competition. The customers have low negotiating power. Most of the customers have cash and thus, not price sensitive. In addition, the differentiated hybrid mattress will convince them to purchase because of the attached value. The suppliers have moderate bargain power because they are many and all of them provide similar raw materials and products. The threat of new comers is high since the industry has low barriers to entry. However, there is low threat of substitute products as there are no alternatives to mattresses.