Five-Year Marketing Plan
General Electric Company®, Omni™ Built-In Side-by-Side Refrigerator
By Timothy Yang and Ji Yoon Yang
BUS 361
April 13, 2012
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Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 3
2. Company Description ............................................................................................................... 3
3. Strategic Focus and Plan .......................................................................................................... 3
4. Situation Analysis...................................................................................................................... 4
5. Market-Product Focus............................................................................................................ 10
6. Marketing Program ................................................................................................................ 13
7. Financial Data and Projections.............................................................................................. 17
8. Organization ............................................................................................................................ 17
9. Implementation Plan .............................................................................................................. 18
10. Evaluation and Control ........................................................................................................ 19
Sources: ........................................................................................................................................ 20
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1. Executive Summary
General Electric Company®, Omni™ Refrigerator, designed by JiYoon and Timothy
Yang, meet beyond the expectation of busy, modern lifestyle by utilizing cloud technology and
online grocery shopping. This marketing plan starts with company description, which briefly
describes the General Electric Company and Omni Refrigerator. The strategic focus and plan
follows with the mission, goals, and core competencies of Omni Refrigerator. Situation analysis
offers various aspects of SWOT, company, customer, competitor, industry, and environmental
forces. Market-product focus informs marketing objectives and illustrates Omni Refrigerator.
Marketing program explains the marketing mix, known as four P’s, in depth. Financial data and
projections covers the past sales records and five-year projections through the examined data.
Organization shows the flow chart of the company’s product services. Implementation shows the
product’s specific placement in major cities. Lastly, evaluation and control concisely organize
future execution after the marketing plan.
2. Company Description
General Electric Company (GE), founded by Thomas Edison and incorporated in 1892, is
a diversified technology and financial services corporation. The products and services of the
Company range from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing, and household
appliances to medical imaging, business and consumer financing and industrial products. It
serves customers in 160 countries around the world.
As one of the largest manufacturers of major appliances in the world, GE have been
introducing advanced appliances to improve peoples’ lives, since 1907. They’re continuing that
legacy today with energy conserving innovations.
GE Omni Refrigerators will be introduced as a new line of products that will
revolutionize our current way of thinking about refrigerators. The advanced technology coupled
with intuitive user interface will prove successful in the market for extended period of time. This
marketing plan outlines how GE Omni Refrigerators will evolve into luxurious and revolutionary
appliances that will set a new standard for all home appliances.
3. Strategic Focus and Plan
This section covers three aspects of product strategy that influence the marketing plan:
(1) the mission, (2) goals, and (3) core competencies of Omni Refrigerator.
Mission
The mission of GE is expressed in four bold verbs: imagine, solve, build, and lead. Their
action-oriented nature says something about who they are - and should serve to energize
themselves and their teams around leading change and driving performance. For more than 125
years, GE has been admired for its performance and imaginative spirit. The businesses that they
invent and build fuel the global economy and improve people's lives. Today, they are 11
technology, services and financial businesses with more than 300,000 employees in 160
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countries around the world.
The mission of GE Omni Refrigerators is to introduce and market the new cutting-edge
scanning technology, OmniScan™, implemented in the refrigerator, which allows users to
seamlessly check the contents of the refrigerator and order items online with smartphones,
tablets, or computers, using the integration and automatic synchronization of cloud system and
online grocery shopping.
Goals
• Financial goals
Increasing the sales revenue from the refrigerator by 15% before the third year of product
launching.
Increasing the gross margin of 25% by 2014 to provide more money in development of
the refrigerator’s functions.
Increasing the net income of 20% on top of increasing the sales revenue by 2016.
• Non-Financial goals
Achieving the market share of at least 25% by 2017.
Achieving a high degree of customer satisfaction and improving the satisfaction rate each
year by 1%.
Develop the electrical energy saving by the refrigerator by 10% by 2014.
Achieving the Architectural Record: Product Report the Top Equipment award of 2012
To come up with a new idea each year to add or update the features of the Omni
refrigerator.
Core competencies
In terms of core competencies, Omni refrigerator should strive to deliver pioneering and
high quality product that appeal to the general population. With the functions embedded in the
Omni refrigerator, an ordinary kitchen will transform into a place where one wouldn’t want to
leave. The innovation of technology will deliver the unexpected surprise to the consumers
through what only Omni refrigerators can achieve. Unprecedented abilities of OmniScan offer a
complete visualization and categorization of the items in the without opening the refrigerator.
The scanned inventory is accessed through the cloud system on smartphones, tablets, and
personal computers. After finding what is missing or wanted in the refrigerator, users can shop
groceries online.
4. Situation Analysis
The situation analysis is the description of environmental factors by SWOT (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. After the SWOT analysis, detailed analysis of
company, customer, competitor, industry, and environmental will follow.
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SWOT Analysis
The figure below shows the internal and external factors affecting the market
opportunities for Omni refrigerator. The SWOT analysis emphasizes the actions taken by the
company since the product launching.
Internal Factors
Offerings
Marketing
SWOT analysis for Omni refrigerator
Strengths
Weaknesses
Pioneering and premium quality
Numerous inferior quality,
product
lower-priced products
Distributing the products in BestBuy, Small percentage of market
Sears, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Home
share in the beginning of the
Depot, and other home appliances
sales
retailers (also online stores)
Finance
Rapid increase of sales and profit
margin
Manufacturing
Many suppliers, which provide the Could be some defects on one
parts of the products (mass
in 10,000 parts since parts are
production)
mass produced
Developing new functions to enhance Lack of funds until the net
the features of the product
income becomes positive
Opportunities
Threats
Through social media, ad becomes With demographic shift, change
easier, bigger, and more effective;
of value affects the purchase;
IMC through social network; modern high price limit the sales
culture changes the ideas of
consumers
R&D
External Factors
Consumer/Social
Competitive
Technological
Economic
Legal/Regulatory
Able to compete with other high-tech
refrigerator; strong brand name
Cloud technology connecting
multiple platforms
Higher disposable income because of
recession
Cost of goods manufacturing
higher than other products, less
overall net profit in first year
Similar product emerging in
late 2012 in the market
Fast paced change of
technology
Economy in recessions; less
prone to buy a new refrigerator
Government legislation protects the Price fixing and monopolistic
product from duplication
competition prohibited
Internal factors of the company’s strengths are innovation and premium quality product,
distribution of products in major home appliances retailers, mass production assembling through
many suppliers, and developing new functions to enhance the features of the product.
Opportunity as external factors of the company are using social media to advertise the product
and using integrated marketing communication through social networks, cloud technology, and
higher disposable income.
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Among the internal factors of company, the weaknesses are numerous low quality and
low-priced products, small percentage of market share in the beginning of the sales, and chance
of defects on 1 in 10,000 parts since parts are mass produced. Other threats from external factors
are with demographic shift, change in value affects the purchase and the high price of product
limit the sales, similar products are emerging in late 2012 in the market, and price fixing and
monopolized competition is prohibited.
Company analysis
GE’s Home & Business Solutions’ products, such as home appliances are primarily
directed to consumer applications. GE Appliances sells and services home appliances, including
refrigerators, freezers, electric and gas ranges, cooktops, dishwashers, clothes washers and
dryers, microwave ovens, room air conditioners, residential water systems for filtration,
softening and heating, and hybrid water heaters. Brands are GE Monogram, GE Profile, GE,
Hotpoint and GE Cafe. It manufactures certain products and also source finished product and
component parts from third-party global manufacturers. It offers original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) service organizations, providing in-home repair and aftermarket parts. It
has operations located in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Energy Star® is a government-backed program that helps consumers identify the most
energy-efficient products. All General Electric refrigerators and freezers are Energy Starqualified refrigerators, promising effective and cost-efficient products for consumers.
Customer analysis
In terms of customer analysis, this section describes (1) the characteristics of customers
expected to purchase GE Omni Refrigerators and (2) lifestyle trends of the targeted customers.
Customer Characteristics:
Demographically, refrigerators are purchased by all consumers across the nation
encompassing the entire spectrum of socioeconomic backgrounds. However, GE Omni
Refrigerators will be targeted specifically towards consumers with high-power occupations and
technologically-forward thinking minds. The preferred consumers are presumed to have studied
in universities and graduated with bachelor’s degrees, which represents 27.9% of the U.S.
population. They are also expected to be earning an annual salary of $100,000 and higher.
Because of their hectic and mostly preoccupied nature of lifestyle, Omni Refrigerators will
appeal to the segment of population that are tech-savvy and heavily pressed for time to shop for
groceries in person.
Lifestyle Trends of the Targeted Customers:
The growing number of online grocery shoppers in the United States demonstrates the
increasing consumer interest in the new digital platform. Approximately two-thirds of Americans
have access to broadband internet, which represents an expanding channel for providing
effortless and pleasant shopping experience. As not all internet users engage in the pleasure of
online grocery shopping, this untapped market segment can be targeted in the marketing plan of
Omni Refrigerators.
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Key differences in income and household size separate the current online grocery shopper
from the rest. The current online shoppers range in the upper-income professionals in the
$100,000 annual salary with one to two members per household. These consumers are more
willing to pay premium fees for shipping and delivery that ensue from online shopping in return
for the convenience and personalized shopping experience.
A study done by the University of Arizona in 2004 showed that the average American
household waste 14% of their food purchase, which add up to $590 of annual waste per
household. This waste concern will be met with pertinent solutions by the Omni Refrigerators’
helpful assistant features of expiration date warnings and other notifications to personal
electronic devices.
Competitor analysis
According to the national refrigerator sales data, $5.2 billion was annual sales of
household refrigerator in 2009. Home appliances market, especially refrigerators, takes part in
the competition among major home appliances companies. Bosch, GE, Haier, Kenmore, LG,
Samsung, Sanyo, Whirlpool, and others are the popular brands home appliances. With more than
dozen brand names, the competitors are trying to hold more market share with their products. To
be qualified for energy-efficient refrigerators, General Electric and other competitors design and
produce to meet the specifications of Energy Star.
The graph below represents the quarterly Energy Star-qualified refrigerators market share
from the year 2000 to 2009, and forecast of Energy Star-qualified refrigerators market share
from 2010 to 2017, in percentages. Using time series seasonal decomposition and simple linear
regression, both quantitative statistical methods, the available data were used to forecast the
future trend in market share of Energy Star-qualified refrigerators. The data shows an increasing
trend of Energy Star-qualified refrigerators market share, which can be interpreted as upward
trend of competitors designing refrigerators to follow the standard set by the U.S. Department of
Energy for better efficiency.
Energy Star Market Share
55
45
35
25
15
0
15
30
45
60
Energy Star Market Share…
75
90
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Industry Analysis: Trends in Refrigerators and Online Shopping
Trends in Refrigerators:
The average lifetime of new refrigerator is 14 years, and as the research shows,
approximately 31 million units were manufactured prior to 1993. By the recommendation of the
U.S. Department of Energy, retiring and recycling pre-1993 refrigerators permanently, as they
are inefficient and ineffective as proper storage systems. Large number of retiring and recycling
refrigerators grants the opportunity to be replaced with new refrigerator units. With an increasing
demand of new refrigerator units, Omni refrigerator should seize the opportunity to lead the
market with its cutting-edge functions. When consumers buy new refrigerators, the average time
to recover initial investment is 2 to 6 years. To help the recovery from the initial investment,
home appliances companies are promoting the green, energy-saving, and environmentallyfriendly refrigerators.
Online Shopping:
The online shopping trend has
been up and continually growing with the
invention of the internet. Convenience,
Generation Y consumers, broadband
internet, and customization are the four
factors that stimulated the resurgence of
online shopping. According to the
Nielsen Company’s study, approximately
$3.75 billion sales was on online in 2008.
Although the online shopping only
accounted 1% of food and beverage
shopping, the shoppers tend to spend
twice as much as offline when making
purchases. The free shipping, minimum
order requirement, and no heavy lifting of
groceries led the shoppers to spend more
shopping online. As the research
indicates, increasing number of online
shoppers can be targeted and easily
attracted to the features of Omni
refrigerators.
Since about 70% of online shoppers reported to Nielsen study that they had positive
experience when purchasing the groceries online. Most popular reason, convenience, drives the
satisfaction of online shoppers. Online shopping can also be done without thinking about
commuting, crowdedness, waiting in line, and weather. With a variety of product selection
online, customers can look at the items more closely. Also, the online shopping helps buyers to
stick to a budget and prevent impulse buying. Drawing from the increasing trend of the online
shoppers, the household refrigerator market uses cooperative marketing strategy to increase its
demands and sales.
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Environmental Analysis
This section is comprised of environmental factors that are affecting the company from
the outside. Environmental factors, known as environmental forces, have very close relationship
between organization and its customers and suppliers. The five environmental factors are social,
economic, technological, competitive, and regulatory. To know what kind of factors affect the
company’s environment, environment scanning should be performed. It is the process of
collecting information about the factors in the environment. After collecting the information,
evaluating information is necessary.
Competitive Factor:
Competitive factor comes with competition, which described as other companies sell and
market the similar and substitutable products in same geographic area. There are four types of
competitors: brand, product, total budget, and generic. Brand competitor is Whirlpool, Samsung,
LG, Kenmore, and Bosch. As many brands are in the refrigerator market, they compete with
each other with their brand names. There is no product, total budget, and generic competitor
because there is no particular home appliances that fits the category of the competitor type. The
competitive structure of the refrigerator market is oligopoly because there is handful number of
competitors, some barriers to get into the market, and the product is homogenous or
differentiated.
Economic Factor:
Economic factor has a business cycle that goes around with the condition of the
economy. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economy Analysis, the average personal income has
decreased overall about 0.2 percent from December of 2011 to January of 2012. Looking at the
decreasing percentages of personal income, this is the very indication of spending pattern in
regular household. Since the business cycle is in recession, the U.S. economy has been
struggling. The spending pattern and buying power of average citizens has been decreasing
constantly. The willingness to spend differs with future expectations, income level, size of the
family, and the general economic conditions. These factors can affect the sales of refrigerator in
various ways.
Technological Factor:
Technological factor changes at the speed of lightning. Many people in nowadays have
and want smartphones and tablets, personal devices that can connect them to the web all the
time. This technological trend made cloud system to become a unique service to modern and
tech-savvy people. With cloud technology, people can access their information on desktop at
home from their smartphones and tablets at anywhere. Increasing use of internet is constantly
changing the world of technology with new variations and components. The evolving and everchanging technological advances now can also have a bearing on household appliances. By
taking advantage of these, modern implementation will be utilized to the full extent. With
development of technology, refrigerators will maintain the same pace as technological
advancement.
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Political Factor:
Political factor’s number one concern is maintaining a good relationship with elected
officials. Continuing good relationships with political officials will return a favor by less
enforcements and regulations on home appliances industry. Since government agencies need
supplies from the market as well, political officials will be able to influence the agencies to buy
the supplies from whom. General Electric is contributing $540,000 per year to Republicans and
Democrats. With much donation, General Electric will have fewer regulations.
Social Factor:
Social factor affects the people’s mindsets beliefs, norms, customs, and lifestyles, which
are hard to alter or shift from the traditional thinking. Change of values and shifting cultural
attitudes is influencing consumers’ minds with convenience-oriented home appliances. Because
of demographic changes in U.S. population, people become more value-conscious when they
buy products. Value-consciousness is a concern for obtaining the best quality, features, and
performance of a product or service for a given price. This value-conscious mind drives the trend
of young consumers’ interests and focus.
5. Market-Product Focus
This section describes the five year marketing and product objectives for Omni
refrigerator and target markets, point of difference, and positioning of the product.
Marketing and Product Objectives
Omni refrigerator’s foremost important aspect is to evaluate the consumer’s experience
on refrigerator. With accurate consumer experience data, evaluation will provide more
information on refrigerator to help developing new features and improve the quality. Moreover,
product’s analysis obtained from consumer experience data will guide the development of new
product.
 Current market will be the refrigerator market that is already available. In fact, the product
has not rolled out into the market. Therefore, increasing the consumer awareness and
promotions during the introduction stage is the important objective.
 New market will be the same exact place with having total market share of 20% on the 5th
projected year. Expansion of product line to major cities in West and East Coast will be able
to increase the sales of refrigerator.
 Refrigerator’s sales expected to reach $6.48 billion in 2015 and expected sales in 2017 will
be $6.69 billion worth of refrigerator and freezer units.
 New product will come out as the Omni brand with value focused (less expensive) and
having similar functions as current Omni refrigerator. The planning of the new product will
start with the roll out of the Omni series, and the actual development will start when the gross
profit reached 15% on second year.
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Target Markets
The primary target market for Omni refrigerators is households with three to four people,
where the parents are busy, career-driven professionals. The average individual income for each
parent should be above $100,000 per year. The targeted households should be modern, with
urban lifestyle, and highly technologically literate. These consumers should already own
premium quality products in their homes, specifically kitchen appliances, or should be searching
for ways to renovate their kitchen area.
Points of Difference
The following four areas capture the characteristics that make Omni™ Refrigerators
unique relative to competitors:
•
OmniScan. A groundbreaking automatic
scanning technology is developed to detect the
radiation from objects and constructs threedimensional image using its reflection.
OmniScan’s imaging scatter pattern is dependent
on the material property, and is accurate for
imaging organic material such as food. Similar to
advanced X-ray imaging systems known as
backscatter X-ray technology and millimeter wave
scanner, often implemented in airport security,
OmniScan provides an effective solution without
the harmful effect of carcinogenic ionizing
radiation. This scanning technology allows users to
see the contents of the refrigerator without opening
the door. The scanned 3-D image of the inside of
the refrigerator is immediately sent to the online
server for item cataloging. The contents are then
cross-referenced on our ever-expanding database,
which returns the exact identities and counts to the
user. OmniScan system is so explicit and thorough,
that it provides the nutrition facts and expiration
dates for all items.
•
Cloud System. In addition to the OmniScan technology, maximizing the modern
technology of cloud system, all information is synchronized on the server and accessible on
smartphones, tablets, and computers (PC or Mac). Users can set preferences to send automatic
notifications to selected devices for food items nearing expiration dates and low inventory of
selected items.
•
Online Shopping. Integrated with online grocery shopping that links the pricing and
inventory systems of retailers worldwide, user can check the scanned inventory to see missing
items and shop, compare prices for best value, view promotions for bundled shipping, coupons,
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rebates, special offers, and sales, all on-the-go, wherever and whenever. The online purchases are
automatically recorded in the database to enhance the user’s experience in future online shopping
and healthy lifestyle choices.
•
Other Features. Every Omni Refrigerator is equipped with an LED-backlit anti-glare
multi-touch 10.5-inch screen with support for multiple languages, which used to display all
information. When supplied with Internet service, Omni Refrigerators can connect to the Internet
via Wi-Fi to access all the web contents that entail and more features, such as media player for
TV, movies, music, and photos. Weather, calendar, email, and sticky notes are also available.
The Omni Refrigerators will be automatically notified for firmware updates when available, to
support and troubleshoot issues that might arise in the future.
Positioning
In the consumers’ minds, refrigerators are often easily overlooked and under-appreciated,
but they are an integral part of household appliances. Despite the high monetary investment in
any household, refrigerators receives less credit than they deserves. Therefore, in creating a
dynamic kitchen environment, refrigerator’s capability and practical utility must be emphasized.
Furthermore, because the customers make the market, GE Omni Refrigerators integrated the
cloud system and accessibility to obtain a positioning in the consumers’ minds as premiumquality product. Creating this intimate relationship with the Omni Refrigerators will be essential
in fostering rich and satisfying experience.
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6. Marketing Program
The four marketing mix elements of Omni refrigerator marketing program are detailed below.
Product strategy
Product line: GE Omni™ Refrigerators are available in two dimensions, 48 inches wide
and 42 inches wide, retailing for $9,999 and $9,599, respectively. The following provides
specifications for dimensions and capacities of the two models:
48-inch model (GEO48XDGSM)
Approximate Dimensions
(HxWxD)
84 in x 48 in x 27 in
Total Capacity
29.5 cu ft
42-inch model (GEO42XDGSM)
Approximate Dimensions
(HxWxD)
84 in x 42 in x 27 in
Total Capacity
25.2 cu ft
Unique Features: OmniScan allows users to scan and view the contents of the
refrigerator in full detail in terms of count, nutrition, and various information regarding the
foodstuffs. Using the cloud technology, users can access the scanned inventory of the Omni
Refrigerator via smartphones, tablets, and computers from locations away from home. Moreover,
users can use the information provided from OmniScan to make informed decisions when
shopping groceries online from selected electronic devices.
Installation, Instructions, and Warranty: Installation can be performed by the retailer
where the customer purchased, for an extra $100 fee with free delivery. Also, user can install the
refrigerator on own using the provided user guide if wanted. Instructions on operation and
maintenance of the refrigerator will be provided in the Owner’s Manual. Parts warranty will
cover limited 1-year entire appliance and 5-year sealed refrigerating system.
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Placement strategy
GE Omni Refrigerators will be manufactured from various locations in the world and
follow a distinct channel of distribution. Manufacturing plants located in Asia, Australia, North
and South America will mass-produce necessary parts. Outsourced offshore locations will be
transport the manufactured parts to the United States for assembly. GE Consumer & Industrial, a
subsidiary of General Electric, is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky at Appliance Park.
Appliance Park Building 5 (AP5) is where the refrigerators are put together with parts made
from other locations. Upon completion, assembled units are processed through quality-control
monitor for proper specifications and performance, and shipped to retailers including Sears, WalMart, Best Buy, Lowe’s, and Home Depot for in-store purchase available to customers.
Remaining refrigerators are transported to storage units for online purchases.
Promotion strategy
In promoting the Omni Refrigerators, various promotional strategies can be implemented
as follows:
Advertisements:
Extensive advertisements will be put into effect in various forms of media to maximize
the impact and introduction in the the market. The advertising objective for Omni Refrigerators
will involve specific product advertisement. Because of the new features that have never been
introduced to the market, pioneering advertising will be developed to primary demand for Omni
Refrigerators.
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Commercials will be run on the Food Network to target very specific segment of the
customers whom are keen on cooking and kitchen appliances. TV spots and informercials on
cable demonstrating the features of the Omni Refrigerators will call attention to all its advantages
of using them. Full-page ads on the cover of Appliance Magazine will gain high reader
involvement. The official GE website will feature comprehensive information guide for the
Omni Refrigerators in detail. Furthermore, on grocery shopping websites, advertisements of
Omni Refrigerators that highlight the benefits of online grocery shopping will inform and appeal
consumers. Using the social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter will reach large
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online traffic and help spread the word. Through YouTube and Hulu.com, sponsored
advertisements by the Omni Refrigerators will gain more attention by frequent web users.
Publicity and Sales Promotion:
All GE refrigerators are Energy Star-qualified, and will bear the mark by the U.S
Department of Energy to show the known efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the approved
appliances. Catalogs for home appliances will include Omni Refrigerators for specific consumers
looking for new refrigerators. In terms of business-to-business promotions, when selling to
retailers in large quantities, promotional discounts can be available for building long-term
professional relationships with retailers.
Price strategy
GE Omni refrigerator is priced at $9,999 for 48-inch model, and $9,599 for 42-inch
model. Both models are priced relatively higher than the other refrigerators and freezer units.
However, the prominent features of OmniScan, cloud synchronization and flexible accessibility,
and integrated online shopping superfluously justify this logical pricing strategy. Moreover, the
well-known brand name of General Electric and guarantee of Energy Star-qualified products
revalidates this reasoning.
Prices over Product Life Cycle:
GE Omni refrigerators will have specific level of prices over the product life cycle. In the
introduction stage, Omni refrigerators will be retailed using the skimming strategy to sell to the
top of the demand curve by setting a very high price. This will maximize profits in the market
introduction phase. In the growth stage, Omni refrigerators will be priced at slightly lower prices
of $9,599 (48-inch) and $9,199 (42-inch) to gain more market share and prepare for competitors
and more aggressive pricing. In the maturity stage, Omni refrigerators’ prices will be reduced by
20% to defend the market share and maintain marginal profit. In the decline stage, Omni
refrigerators line will follow the deletion strategy to handle the phasing out of the market, as at
that point in time, advances in technology are expected to have designed more sophisticated
machine capable of incontestable features.
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7. Financial Data and Projections
Past Sales Records
The following financial data were gathered from the US Census Bureau to record the
sales of the refrigerators and freezer units in the United States over the course of two decades.
Historical values of shipments in millions of dollars appear in the following figure.
Refrigerator sales have been steadily increasing over two decades in the United States. The Rsquared value indicates 0.914, which shows very high relevance in the trend and the five-year
projections. As research indicates, the increasing values of shipments in the US over two decades
represent a corresponding market demand which is also increasing.
Five-Year Projections
Five-year projections for the US national refrigerators sales appear below. These
forecasted values indicate further growth of refrigerator market.
Actual
2012
Year 1
2013
Year 2
2014
Year 3
2015
Values of shipments $6,169.6 $6,274.6 $6,379.6 $6,484.5
($ millions)
Year 4
2016
Year 5
2017
$6,589.5 $6,694.
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8. Organization
Refrigerator Sales - US National
$7,000
$6,250
$5,500
$4,750
$4,000
$3,250
$2,500
1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017
Value of shipments ($ millions)
Trend 1
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General Electric’s most recent organization is shown in the figure below. It shows the
company’s organizations in various product services.
9. Implementation Plan
In order to introduce the Omni refrigerator in the existing market, many factors affects
the specific requirements and necessities of implementation plan. Placing the refrigerators to 20
major cities in West Coast and 28 major cities in East Coast region will consume large
expenditures on placement and promotion. Entering the home appliances market without existing
markets in 48 major cities by 2013 will only return about 15% of the market share, which is
about 60% of the goal mentioned achieving 25% market share by last projected year. The
following table will provide the data in percentages, number of markets, and markets added
yearly placed in major cities.
Schedule of Market Placements in U.S. Major Cities
Year
New Markets
Added Each Year
Cumulative
Markets
Cumulative Percentages of
Markets in 48 Major Cities
Current Year (2012)
4
4
2
19
Year 1 (2013)
15
19
15
Year 2 (2014)
8
27
23
Year 3 (2015)
10
37
37
Year 4 (2016)
5
42
40
Year 5 (2017)
6
48
44
With more markets in the home appliance industry, General Electric will provide more
directions in terms of resources, costs, and control. Specific guidelines will help promote the
refrigerators and development of new product in the near future. At the 5th projected year,
company will conclude whether the number of markets should increase more or stay at the
current level.
10. Evaluation and Control
By analyzing the data after the projected term, assessing the objectives and its marketing
is vital point in evaluation. Comparing each year’s actual sales to the projected sales is one of the
many determining points in evaluation. Through more evaluations in market share analysis,
marketing cost and profitability ratio analysis will help the company to examine the evaluation
closely. By setting a standard after the evaluation and measuring the performance of the plan,
company can control the outcome in the future years.
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Sources:
General Electric Company
http://www.ge.com
http://www.ge.com/products_services/appliances.html
US Wastes Half Its Food. (2004, November 26). Food Navigator USA
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/US-wastes-half-its-food
US Census Bureau Industry Statistics Sampler
NAICS 335222, Household refrigerator and home freezer manufacturing
U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy “Emerging Technologies:
Appliance Research and Development”
http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/tech/appliances
Transportation Security Administration: “Advanced Imaging Technology”
http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/how_it_works.shtm
“29th Annual Portrait of the U.S. Appliance Industry” Appliance Magazine September 2006
“From Dates to Diapers” Christine Young
Flickr
U.S. Bureau of Economy Analysis, “Personal Income and Outlays”
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm
NielsonWire “Opportunities Around for Online Grocers”
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/opportunities-abound-for-online-grocers/
“USA QuickFacts” US Census Bureau
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html
GE Company Description
http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=GE.N
GE Organizational Chart (Updated February 2011)
http://www.ge.com/pdf/company/ge_organization_chart.pdf
GE Appliances & Lighting
http://pressroom.geconsumerproducts.com/pr/ge/appliances.aspx