Clean Edge Case Analysis

Summary of the Background and Facts Paramount Health and Beauty Company (Paramount) set out to introduce a new non-disposable razor to the market, the Clean Edge. “Clean Edge’s improved design provided superior performance by utilizing a vibrating technology to stimulate hair follicles and lift the hair from the skin, allowing for a more thorough shave” (Quelch and Beckham, 2011). While Paramount’s senior management agreed on pricing segmentation, they (management) remained split on product positioning in the market. Kotler and Keller (2012) define positioning as “the act of designing a company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market.” Some of Paramount’s executives envisioned a broad positioning

Upon the approaching release, many constraints and issues arose regarding the product’s positioning. William Kim, the newly hired corporate marketing director, thought it was best to use a mainstream positioning strategy for the Clean Edge, while the seasoned Paramount Pro product manager, Albert Rosenberg, thought that a niche strategy would be the best option for the product portfolio. Rosenberg’s concern with the mainstream strategy was dilution of brand power for the Pro

First, the niche positioning strategy requires lower marketing cost than the mainstream. Therefore, the company should be more successful at achieving a return on investment and reaping large profits. Second, it helps to prevent cannibalization. Cannibalization occurs when a company has a lower quality product that diminishes the demand for higher quality product (Moorthy and Png, 1992). Third, like Rosenberg mentioned, it will complement Paramount’s existing product line. However, there are some implications for this recommendation. The company may lose some customers as Pro and Avail do not have advanced technology. According to Quelch and Beckham (2011), “He responded, “Albert, research shows our consumers are becoming more sophisticated and expect more advanced technology.” In addition, the targeted consumers may think that the product is not sophisticated, which can cause the niche positioning strategy to be