TIVO Business Analysis
TiVo COMPANY BACKGROUND
TiVo is a small black box which contains a digital video recorder that allows viewers to watch what they want, when they want to watch it, it allows Pause and instant replay of live TV by storing information on a hard drive.
The TiVo Service represents what has been called the “Personal Television Industry” – Total control over the way you watch television.
The company established manufacturing partnerships with well established firms like Philips and Sony, and also made some agreements concerning distribution through retail chains such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Sears.
In sum, the product was designed and developed by Tivo, and then licensed for manufacture and sold in retail channels as a consumer electronic device.
Price range is between $499 and $999, plus and additional $9.95 monthly for the TiVo servive (with the option to pay $99 yearly or $199 for the lifetime of the service).
Sales, expressed in terms of the number of subscribers, have been growing consistently over the 14 months of the conpany´s lifetime, yet, they have grown at a much slower rate than the one that was anticipated in face of the dimension of the market and of consumer satisfaction.
It is no wonder that the company has been carrying losses through its short existence, yet, it is disturbing to find that there is no evidence of the sales “take-off” that has been expected to happen, especially on the Christmas shopping season.
*Brand Design and Packaging: All of XM’s hardware is manufactured by third parties such as Terk, Delphi, and Pioneer Electronics. However all product packaging bears both the logo and XM’s full channel listing. This provides consumers with the opportunity to see how diverse and expansive their channels are.
In general, it is clear that the company’s main focus is profitability at the expense of consumers. These results are consistent with the initial assertion by the President of the company noted earlier.
The purpose of this report is to research and examine Toys "R" Us, the world's largiest toy chain store, so as to provide the company with strategic recommendations for future success. To throughly understand the company, the analysis is divided into multiple focus points: industry analysis, firm strategy analysis and firm financial analysis. The analysis concludes with rating that we give the company's stock as well as our strategic recommendations for the company to increase it's overall preformance.
The data compiled by the Nielsen Media Research is essential to TV programming across the United States and in Canada. It monitors television ratings and estimates audience sizes by providing the highest quality of accuracy, allowing the television marketplace to function effectively. This information provides programmers and commercial advertisers with the awareness of people’s viewing habits. Depending on air times and the popularity of certain shows, the station calculates the advertising fees that generate a majority of its revenue.
The market penetration of TiVo has been very poor. Fourteen months after its introduction only 0.04% penetration has been achieved out of the total of 102million TV watching population. This is also reflected in the poor revenue position of the company. Exhibit 3 shows that the company recorded a loss every quarter since the introduction of the product in September 1999 and has been getting worse.
Although he still has considerable work ahead of him, Eyler's efforts appear to be paying off. Total sales were up two percent for both the second quarter and the first six months of 2002, compared to the previous year, and results for the entire year should likewise prove relatively strong. The company credits "careful attention to inventory management combined with very strong expense controls" for the positive numbers. Customers, however, are impressed with the improved service, remodeled stores, and price cuts on hundreds of toys.
Toys R Us ventured into a partnership with Amazon.com to improve the e-commerce division of their business. Internet retailing was cutting into the profits and the market share of Toys R Us. This financial effect was the reason they the needed to improve and establish themselves in the Internet market. This Internet market was clearly the way the trend was going, as indicated by the growth of retailers such as eToys.com and SmarterKids.com. Toys R Us needed to establish itself in this market, since bricks and mortar retai...
In addition, the letter addressed how the 2013 economic downward spiral in the United States caused consumers to purchase discounted products from Family Dollar. The CEO pointed out that this economic uncertainty resulted in an increase of “net sales by 11.4% for 2013 in comparison to the previous fiscal year and recorded operating profit of $688 million, a 3.6% increase (www.sec.gov) ”. Also, this letter explained that “830 Family Dollar stores were selected to be either renovated, relocated, or expanded (www.sec.gov)” so that the organization can continue to be competitive. Its focus is to provide a better shopping experience that appeal to a broader customer base. In hopes that this re-branding...
Customers use their own TV set as a monitor and store programs on audio cassette recorders. Compare this price with computers today. The price about the same, but the computer has changed tremendously.
Adams, Guy. “Is your TV spying on YOU? It sounds like science fiction but many new TVs can watch you- telling advertisers your favorite shows or even filming you on the sofa. And there’s no off switch!” Mail Online. (25 Nov 2013). Web.30 Mar .2014.
kind in the world. It is a well-known American company offers its products through various retail formats
The main symptom and concern is that Scotts’ European sales had increased as expected, but margins had dropped, as well as synergies between the acquired companies were not working as expected. In addition, one of Scotts Europe’s largest customers was threatening to leave due to unacceptable service levels that might cause a domino effect to other large customers.
Best Buy, though a firm in the general retail industry, is a major player in certain sub-industries that
teleconferencing, even the complex simulations of virtual reality. This souped-up television will itself be a powerful computer. This, many believe, will be the world’s biggest media group, letting consumers tune into anything, anywhere, anytime.
We can’t assume consumers will remain loyal if we don’t adapt and learn and you can’t assume brand strength alone will keep them or attract new consumers. The market will change and new will enter the market. I realized that the 5 D’s (Discovering, Defining, Developing, Doing, and Directing) in the marketing process is a continuous, an ongoing evaluation of the market conditions and the continued adaption. For Digital Channels, that means we must have the best feature rich products and service that our customers value. We can’t assume they will stay with us because they have for years. The moment a company becomes complacent, they become