Pranav Case Study

1. Background of the Case

Pranav New York was founded by four friends namely, Victor Fernando, Karlo Nisce, Mark Orbos and Roselin Gaw. “Pranav” is an Indian term which means “healing through prana”, where “prana” denotes the “life-force of a human being”. They drew their inspiration from the male spas in “New York”. Pranav New York’s aim is to be the first ever male spa in the Philippines. It will be a “one-stop shop” that offers grooming, wellness and relaxation services to the male market. The concept started when one of the owners thought that it’s inconvenient to go to a barber shop to get a haircut, then visit a salon or spa to avail relaxation and stress management services. Through their entrepreneurial background, they were able to transform this idea into a business venture. Hence, the birth of Pranav New York.

Pranav New York provides a full-service salon and spa, tailor made to the mental and physical needs of the Filipino male market. It will give its male customers the satisfaction of availing beauty and relaxation services without feeling less manly. Their styling expertise, modern ambience and the full male relaxation and grooming services will address the modern man's impending demand that regular barber shops can’t provide. They also wanted to exude a “high-end” image by coupling their services with the contemporary and sophisticated look of their establishment. These made the prices of these services belong to the upper band of the price tolerance range of the micro market.

Pranav New York is located at the 3rd Floor of Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas. It is a suitable location because it is within the Mandaluyong business district and several high-profile villages in the metro. These communities can be sources of their potential customers. The mall’s average daily foot traffic reaches up to 130,000 people; where 60% are females, while the remaining 40% are males. Their salon services target the younger male market, while the spa services cater the older male market segment.

They intended to reach their market by developing on-site and in-mall marketing collaterals through posters, tarpaulin displays and mounted advertisements of their service offerings. They also distributed brochures and flyers outside the establishment and around the mall area.

During their initial operations, Pranav New York was doing reasonably well. However, it hasn’t been performing well since the establishment only caters to the male market unlike its competitors who serve both the male and female market. It is known that male customers don’t generally spend more as compared to the females, limiting Pranav New York from generating potential revenue from the female market.

1. Statement of the Problem

Should Pranav New York consider expanding its services to cater the female market in order to increase the company’s profitability?

How can Pranav New York increase its profitability without expanding its services to cater the female market?

1. Objectives

1. To increase market share of Pranav
2. To earn more profit from the business by effectively maximizing its products and services to keep attracting its target market while keeping loyal customers
3. To create a need for target market (men) to go to salon/spas specifically - Pranav New York
4. To provide an effective and more affordable pricing scheme to Pranav New York customers

1. Areas of Consideration (SWOT)

1. Strength

1. Pranav NY is the first salon/spa in the Philippines catering to the male market.
2. Location - PNY is at the center of Ortigas CBD where it not only caters to mall goers but even bypassing commuters

1. Weaknesses

1. High pricing of Pranav services that might discourage price-conscious male customers.
2. Lack of promotions of Pranav through other marketing collaterals or channels.

1. Opportunity

1. The changing demands and lifestyle of male demographics when it comes to personal grooming/hygiene.
2. Pranav have competitive male market share among the salons, barbershops and spas in Robinsons Galleria.
3. The 60% female market share visiting Robinsons Galleria can be an opportunity that Pranav can explore.

1. Threat

1. Several salons with bigger market share are located in the mall and within the vicinity of Robinsons Galleria.
2. The demographics of male going to salon in Robinsons Galleria is quite smaller compared to the female market.
3. Men as a niche segment in general tends to be attracted to cheaper services at their own convenience. (from weakness, nilipat ko sa threat because we cannot control men’s behavior for prices.)
4. hindi appealing sa filipino market-will expand later

1. Alternative Courses of Action (ACA)

1. ACA1: Change location of Pranav New York to an area with high male traffic visitors. (I think kelangan natin magspecify dito ng exact location)

1. ACA2: Improve unique or value-added services of Pranav New York to attract customers through quality and satisfying services.

1. Charging station
2. Free Wi-Fi
3. Game lounge for waiting customers
4. TV’s showing sports channels
5. Shoeshine services

1. ACA3: Study the pricing strategy and create improvement on service rates to encourage price conscious male customers.

1. ACA4: Increase promotion through social media channels - facebook, instagram, website.

1. ACA5: Hire a brand ambassador who is very manly and fit to the Pranav brand to influence men on going to salon. (This is to remove the stigma that only females go to salon to improve their physical appearance.)

1. Proposed brand models:

1. Derek Ramsay
2. John Lloyd Cruz
3. Dingdong Dantes
4. Richard Yap (preferred by the group)
5. BNO boys + Ramon Baustista

1. Recommendation

Pranav New York is a new company and with its unique product offering and target niche market it has a strong potential of creating a need for its kind in the market. However, with the lack of existing product improvements the group believes that the company should adhere to the 4 P’s of marketing – product / promotions / place / pricing by offering all the alternative courses of actions mentioned above due to its mutually exclusive nature.