Perpetual map - Case Study PDF

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Thorntons: why the chocolate-maker has gone into meltdown (8 May, 2011) Thorntons' shares have fallen by 30% in 12 months and are down by two-thirds on their 2007 peak. Thornton believes the "theatre" of the company's chocolate shops has eroded as chocolates are sold in "robot-packed" boxes designed to look fuller than they truly are. He reckons that the company's slogan – "The Art of the Chocolatier" – is vacuous and that the stores are understaffed, and he complains that the once premium brand has been undermined by sales through supermarkets. The firm is one of the best known brands on Britain's high streets, but it may not be as commonplace in future. Stoddart is also doubtful about Thorntons' positioning. He worries that it fails to distinguish itself in the premium category alongside names such as Green & Blacks and Hotel Chocolat, while still charging a higher price than mass-market Cadbury's or Mars. "It's probably not the present you'd give to impress a girlfriend. You might give it to your mother for Mother's Day." Hotel Chocolat shares surge on stock market debut (10 May, 2016) Shares in the luxury chocolate maker Hotel Chocolat surged by more than a quarter in their first day of trading on the stock market. “Hotel Chocolat is a business that’s been built to last. This isn’t a product that’s going to be listed in supermarkets and then disappear. Our investor roadshow enabled potential investors to see behind the scenes and visit our factory, our web marketing centre and our distribution centre.” Hotel Chocolat portrays itself as a luxury brand, having as much in common with Burberry as with rival chocolate makers, such as Thorntons. It claims to inject hedonism into the experience of eating chocolate and to use “more cocoa, less sugar” to make premium products. Unlike Thorntons, which fell victim to the grocery price war, Hotel Chocolat has kept its chocolates out of supermarkets to preserve their cachet. The company’s success reflects affluent shoppers’ willingness to pay extra for products perceived to be of high quality, made with premium ingredients. Ferrero commits £4.9m to Thorntons media push ahead of relaunch (5 Aug, 2016) Confectionery group Ferrero is to invest £4.9m in media spend to promote the relaunch of high street chocolate retailer Thorntons, a year since acquiring the company in August 2015. Thorntons will screen its first TV advert for six years on 4 November, running for six weeks as part of its 2016 festive campaign. Ferrero expects the advert to reach 30 million people within the first two days. Ferrero UK customer development director, Levi Boorer, acknowledges the challenges surrounding the Thorntons brand, which before the acquisition was “commoditised” and characterised by “frequent deep-cut promotions”, creating an old fashioned perception among some consumers. As a result the campaign will refocus on craftsmanship and building an emotional connection with customers, as well as appealing to younger consumers who might not previously have shopped at Thorntons. Boorer is confident an above the line investment is the right strategy to drive the Thorntons brand forward.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/may/08/thorntons-chocolate-brand-goes-stale https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/10/hotel-chocolat-shares-surge-on-stock-market-debut https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/08/05/ferrero-commits-4-9m-to-thorntons-media-push-ahead-of-relaunch/

Q. The articles portray two chocolate brands - Hotel Chocolat and Thorntons. 1. Draw a perceptual map. The x-axis should be low price (left) – high price (right). The y-axis should be modern (top) and oldfashioned (bottom). 2. Place Hot Chocolat and Thorntons on the perception map, given the market scenario (from May 2011 and May 2016). 3. Where in the perception map does Thornton want to move to after the new advertisement (Aug 2016)?...