Bearhuggs Marketing Paper

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A MARKETING STRATEGY ANALYSIS By: Mikhaela Go (2009-45370) BA 170 under Professor Art Ilano 1 T eddy bears have first been invented in the nineteenth century. Back then, stuffed bears were made to look as lifelike as possible. As time passed, bears became cuter in appearance and were directly associated with gift giving. With that, all sorts of stuffed animals and things formed the new product category of stuffed toys. Stuffed toys are normally given as gifts during special occasions such as Birthdays, Valentines’ day and Christmas, which results to a seasonal demand. 2 earhuggs was one of the earliest retailers who introduced stuffed bears in the industry. In 1996, the first specialty store was opened in Robinsons Galleria. There was a wide variety of bears of all colors and sizes. Bearhuggs focused on stuffed bears as their main product, hence the synthetic name, coming from the common terms “bear” and “hug”. People of all ages loved the bears thus market demand and sales skyrocketed. The unique selling position of Bearhuggs became their good quality, variety of bears in terms of color and size, and exclusive distribution. As stuffed bears reached their maturity, Bearhuggs had to think fast. More competitors for both stuffed bears and stuffed animals emerged along with the trend. After realizing their position as a gift item in 2007, Bearhuggs decided to include other stuffed animals as well as gift items in their product mix. This breakaway positioning saved them from the decline stage. This also excited the market which hoped for more new products. This formed a cycle-recycle pattern where in the life cycle of the product was reintroduced through the variety of new goods. Until today, Bearhuggs has retained its image for quality and variety. B CAPTURING INSIGHTS FROM THE MARKET To gain insights about the stuffed toy market and the brand,

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