Current Market Conditions / Competitive Analysis
Current Market Conditions Competitive AnalysisViky Iglesias, Cynthia Sanders, Vivianne Rivera, Mary Helen Kimble, Debra WintersECO/365July 13, 2015 David NorcrossCurrent Market Conditions Competitive Analysis To keep up with consumer needs and demands companies are continuously developing new products, or improving them.  New product ideas are good but to be successful a company must first develop a plan for their products to move them from the idea stage to store shelf.  The marketing director has asked our team to submit a strategic product plan, comprising of a competitive market analysis to determine the new product’s potential success focusing on the competitors in the product’s market.  The competitor product our team will analyze is the Barnes & Nobel Nook Tablet.  The bookseller Barnes & Noble, Inc., incorporated in 1986. The have expanded throughout the country by delivering a one-stop book shopping in stores when adding seating for customers to read, lounges, and in-house cafes.  Barnes & Noble participates in three divisions; B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK.  “The NOOK segment includes the Company’s digital business, which includes the Company’s eBookstore, digital newsstand and sales of NOOK devices and, Target, Books-A-Million, Fry’s Electronics, MicroCenter, QVC and HSN retailers.” (Shapiro 2011)  The NOOK Tablet has become a major competing product with the Amazon Fire and the Apple iPad on specs and price.  Other technology companies such as HP, Samsung, and Sony have not been able to do. (Shapiro 2011).
Market ConditionsBarnes and Noble Incorporated in 1986, is a bookseller. “The company is a content, commerce and technology company that provides access to books, magazines and other multi-channel distribution platforms” (Hoovers, 2015). Barnes and Noble operates in three segments: B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK. NOOK is a digital business, eBook store for devices and accessories. NOOK competes with other tablets on the market at alternative prices. NOOK’s greatest competition is Amazon’s Kindle business. “Barnes and Noble is the second largest e-commerce bookseller behind Amazon.com” (Reuters, 2015). In August, 2014 Amazon was dominant in the e-book market with “sales up 15% to $22.72 billion” (Amazon, 2015). In December, 2014 Barnes and Noble “revenue decreased 2.7% to $1.7 billion compared to prior year” (B&N, 2015). “Nook segment revenues of $64 million for quarter decreasing 41.3% from a year ago” (B&N, 2015).Barnes and Noble has two preferred selections of NOOK, both through Samsung Galaxy are Tab 4 tablets. The NOOK 7.0 is priced at $149.00 and the NOOK 10.1 at $279.99. Amazon, who launched Kindle in 2007, has its own preferred selections of Kindle. The Kindle Fire HD 7.0 is priced at $139.00 and the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 at $379.00. Potential customers for this product are Facebook and other colleges that have not yet become affiliated with Barnes and Noble. The target audience for Barnes and Noble are families and children. Potential buyers can be any firm that holds electronic devices in their store or bookstores across the globe.