Omega Paw Case Study

OMOTOYOSI FAMUYIWA

0358857

OMEGA PAW CASE STUDY

Problem Statement

The population of cats in North America is increasing and so does the ownership of them as pets. Michael Ebert, the creator of “Self-cleaning Litter box” got his idea when he was left alone to take care of the cats for a holiday. He was trying to clean out the cat litter and was not pleased with smelly and irritating and thought of a solution to this problem. He made the “Self-cleaning Litter box”. It is made up of a moulded plastic box with rounded edges which had a large opening at the side. This box is available in two sizes, where the larger one is for a very large cat or multiple cats. To clean this litter box, the owner would roll the box onto its back, allowing all the litter to pass through the filter and collecting any clumped litter into in the process.

Objectives

The population of cats in North America is increasing and so does the ownership of them as pets. After a successful year of business in selling the “Self-cleaning Litter box”, Omega Paw needs to figure out a way to continue this favorable trend. Ebert, the creator of the “Self-cleaning Litter box” has aspirations he wishes to meet after Omega had sold approximately 50,000 “Self-cleaning Litter boxes” which is a total of $1million in sales. Ebert has goals to reach sales of $1.7 million by the company’s second fiscal year end, $3 million by the third year, and $5.7 million by the fourth year. Omega Paw needs a marketing strategy which will help reach Ebert’s goals.

Sub-issues

There are three (3) main consumer groups which will be addressed as follows;

New pet owners: The new pet owners are starting from scratch and need high quality products and will be searching for a litter box as it is essential in the care of a cat.

Existing pet owners: The existing pet owners are those who already have cats and most likely have litter boxes. These customers may need to replace a broken or over used litter box or may be fed up with cleaning out their litter box just as Ebert, the creator was.

Gray zone pet owners: These gray zone pet owners are those who have many pets and may not be bothered by a cat litter. These customers may need to replace a broken or over used litter box or may be fed up with cleaning out their litter box just as Ebert, the creator was.

Analysis

• Marketing Analysis

The cat owners’ market is growing in North America at an annual rate of 4%. This means that there is an addition of approximately 2 million cats entering the market each year. This market will continue to increase in future as cats continue to be wanted as pets. Omega is currently at its growth stage and will continue to grow as long as there is consistency in the way it is currently run.

However, there are no barriers to entry in the cat litter industry so there is a great potential for any number of competitors to join and this remains a constant threat.

• Trade Analysis
• Competition Analysis

The competition in the cat litter market to “Self-cleaning Litter box” are as follows;

“Everclean Self Scoop Litter box” by First Brands Corporation.

This litter box is made up of an open litter box with rounded edges. In order to clean it the cover had to be attached in the opening at the top, then the box is turned over making the clumped litter to be on the lid and allowing for clean litter to be refilled. After this, the cover is detached and used to dispose of the clumps. When cleaning process is finished, the cover is left detached and will be stored till next cleaning. The retail price of this product ranges from $53 to $63. A lot of money is spent on advertisement via trade magazines. This company also has North American-wide distribution. First Brands Corporation recently reported that the annual sales revenue is over $1 billion.

This competitor has an advantage over other brands because of its diversity. This brand also sells home products and automotive. The size of this company will allow them to compete in marketing and allow them flexibility in their prices.

“Quick Sand Litter box”

This litter box is made up of three trays each with slanted slots on the bottom of the tray, arranged in layers over each other. These trays were layered in such a way that the slanted slots of the top and bottom trays were going in the same direction while the middle tray had slanted slots in the opposite direction. The trays will be removed, cleaned and stored until all three trays have been, then the process is repeated. The retail price of this product is $29. This litter box company has invested in advertisement and has advertising exposure throughout Canada and the United States.