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AQUALISA QUARTZ: SIMPLY A BETTER SHOWER

Author: Thien Tran | October 2014

What is the Quartz value proposition to plumbers? To consumers?

Before the birth of Quartz, shower market in UK was under a problem that only 60% of UK

home had showers and most households were not happy with their shower system due to low

water pressure and temperature control. Aqualisa, a shower manufacturer supplied three typical

shower categories which vary from functions and pricing including electric showers, mixer

shower valves and integral power showers. Functionally, electric showers used cold water and

electricity to heat the water flow to generate required temperature, without using boiler. This

product category was sold by Aqualisa with three price points consisting of value ($95),

standard ($155) and premium ($230). However, the problems were that the power of heated

water was limited by energy so the flow was not as strong as expected, and the bulky box

affected aestheticism of the bathroom. The next one was mixer shower valves which hot and cold

water were controlled by either an automatic thermostatic valves or manual valves to create

appropriate temperature. Unlike electric shower, the products were priced at $390 and $715 for

value and standard tiers respectively along with optional booster pump to boost water pressure.

Although the installation took two-day job for excavating bathroom was, Aquavalve was

preferred by most plumbers and was top-selling shower of Aqualisa with 60,000 units per year.

The last one was power shower which integrated thermostatic mixer valves and booster pump to

increase the water supply up to 18 litters, but it resulted in a bulky box in the wall. Similarly, this

category was classified into manual and thermostatic with different price points of $480 and

$670 respectively.

Given sales history and market research, Aqualisa realized that a majority of consumers were

not happy with their current showers as they “often broke down after awhile. The mechanism

gets gummed up with lime scale, making the valve stiff and hard to turn, the seal start to leak”.

Also, consumers dissatisfied with the water flows and they found difficult to control appropriate

CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

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temperature. For this reason, Aqualisa spent time and money on R&D to create Quartz with

value proposition facilitating both plumbers and consumers on the basis of breakthrough

features and benefits.

For customers, Quartz did not only pleased them with points of parity, but it also created

favourable points of difference on the basis of function, core benefit and feature . As mentioned

previously, the entire installation needed two-day job and was charged on the hourly basis, but it

was now just half-day which benefited consumers in managing their personal time more

efficiently, and saving cost as well. Traditional showers, in addition, required a wall excavation

which devalued consumers’ bathroom on the basis of aestheticism, but it was no longer the

issue. As the flexibility associated with locating the processor remotely, the excavation could be

ignored meaning that the aesthetical value was maintained. The most significant value to

consumers was that Quartz technology did not only solve problems described above, but it also

facilitated them with a special and different feature, called “one touch” control. The consumers

were no longer worry about the water pressure or temperature as the temperature was

controlled automatically at the touch of a button which made Quartz shower became “more

efficient and reliable”, especially safer for kids and the elderly use.

As for plumbers, Aqualisa understood how much time and effort a plumber had to spend to

complete installing a standard shower. It was two-day job and not very easy as the wall

excavation was needed, so a plumber normally could install up to 50 showers a year which

limited their income. Thus, Quartz’s innovation made a different value to them as it definitely

shortened the installation time to just half-day meaning that they could use the time remaining

to install others shower and earn extra money. Unlike traditional showers, in addition, Quartz

was much user-friendlier as what they did was just drilling whole in the ceiling and this job

could be done easily and straightforwardly by a youth apprentice. As a result, the plumbers were

more initiative in staffing and managing their income.

Why is the Quartz shower not selling?

In despite of value proposition Quartz benefited consumers and plumbers, its product coverage,

and salemen’s effort, there was no significant sale number recoded after one-month launching.

There were several arguments over the reasons why Quartz could not generate as good sale as

expected.

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Firstly, from the exhibit 8 we can see that Quartz was developed with two versions and both

were set at premium price ($850 for standard and $1,080 for pumped). For this segment, in

reality, the consumers “took for granted high performance and services, and for them style

determined their selection” so they shopped in showroom where high-end product lines and

brands were merchandised and displayed in a pleasant environment and salespeople gave them

solution in selecting and designing a bathroom. In other words, their purchasing behaviour was

influenced by real emotional experiment in showroom. However, Tim Pestell decided to get

products covered in all channels whereas each pipeline just fitted a certain group of consumers

who might mainly focused on price, performance and convenience. It meant that Quartz was

sold through inappropriate channel in which its value proposition did not benefit the segment.

Secondly, the plumbers distrusted electronic product innovation due to their past experiences

with previous manufacturer, so they did not want to use or buy unfamiliar products as they

might be required for a second visit to fix the problems which cost them money. This was the

key issue of the case as given data showed that two-thirds selection of mixer shower were

influenced or made by plumbers, accounted for 73%, meanwhile most plumbers usually worked

for developers, showrooms, contractors or direct consumers. It meant that the plumbers played

an important role in deciding which product or brand the consumer should buy as their

recommendation and relationship valued to the brands to generate sale. However, due to past

experiment, they preferred going with reliable brands and not willing to take risk with Quartz

regardless its special and new features.

Finally, a new products needs lots of effort to get it stayed on the seller’s shelves, but 90% of

Aqualisa’s sales teams prioritized on existing account serving existing customers meaning that

only 10% efforts emphasized on pushing Quartz. In addition, the products were mainly sold at

trade shop in which “the staffs don’t have the time to learn all the features and benefits of the

product they offer” whereas Quartz’s value proposition lied in its breakthrough features and

benefits which should have been explained to purchasers. As a result, the consumers did not

know how Quartz differentiated from other brands to consider besides its premium price which

they were not affordable.

What is the nature of the purchasing behaviour for this product category?

Mixer showers were sold at two levels consisting of value and standard whose consumers tended

to focus on performance, service, price and convenience meaning that products’ functions and

benefits were more favourable and influent on their purchasing behaviour. Those purchased this

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product category due to its core benefit for use rather than relationship with the brand.

Therefore, they did not spend much time on searching for product information before making

purchase decision. They even were not interested in product specification, but they heavily

relied on suggestion of sellers. Given data showed that trade shop was the most crowded

channel for this category transactions with 400,000 unit sold, compared to 80,000 and 70,000

units for DIY and showrooms respectively in 2000. Consumers shopping at this channel usually

looked for “reliable product availability more than technical advice” and 73% of them relied on

plumber to recommend or select a product for them because the installers had experienced in

this product category. It means that the plumbers played very important role in this product

category as consumers’ shopping and consideration were based on the available products and

brands that plumber stocked, and their purchasing behaviour was influenced by plumbers’

advices. However, the problem was that the plumbers were distrusted innovation, especially

electronic products and they preferred going with a single brand rather than

What should Rawlinson do to generate sales momentum for the Quartz product?

After the launch, there were very few units sold which drove entire company to a research to

figure out solutions. Quartz was a good product that breakthrough features and technology

satisfy almost consumers, but it had sold only 15 units on a daily basis since the launch in 2001.

Among 4Ps of marketing mix, the first P of product seemed to complete its mission, so the

problems might lie in other 3Ps - pricing, promotion and place which Rawlinson should have

strategized thoroughly and properly to kick their sales off.

Regarding place, the company should not have followed the intensive distribution strategy

instead selective channel to approach right target consumers. It is obvious that Quarts was set at

premium price so the products should not have stayed at all channels as the products’ value and

positioning would be decreased. As at premium segment consumers desired to shop at a well-

displayed and well-merchandised showroom where they could were introduced about product

performances in an interactive communication with personal seller, and experienced pleasant

environment in the store. Also they did not concern much about the price rather than grated

high performance, service and style which determined their selection.

In terms of price, Quartz was a new product and in introduction stage, so Rawlingson should

follow market-penetration pricing which is a lower price to enable new product penetrate into

an establish market. This may make Quartz more acceptable to consumers to create demand and

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build brand awareness in the market at the prior stage. Once the demand increased, the

company may gradually reset retail price at higher levels equals its core benefit and brand value.

Last but not least, Rawlingson mainly emphasized on push without much concern about pull, so

the end-users might not perceive the products’ core value and benefit. As a result, they might

omit Quartz when looking at its retail price as unknown brand sold at expensive price could not

convince them to pour their pocket. The solution is that Rawlingson should make marketing

plan to build brand awareness and increase trial which mainly deliver message about value

proposition of the product to consumers. On the one hand, he should push to increase coverage

in selective channels by offering incentive to seller so that they are willing to stock Quartz at the

introduction stage. On the other hand, he should have sale teams trained staff working at outlets

to get them understood how value the product is so they can consult and recommend consumers

on which product and brand they should buy.

In retail industry, furthermore, merchandising and display are pivotal factors which can

determine a brand or store positioning in consumers’ perception. Therefore, Rawlingson should

allocate company resources to develop a standard and consistent shop-in-shop program to make

Quartz stand out from the crowd over other brands in a certain shop. This separation will not

only make the product available to consumers and draw their attention, but also consolidate

Quartz positioning which impulses purchase behaviour.