To
truth of the matter is that grey market activities, to some degree, are
inevitable. The grey market is able to exist as a result of the imbalance in
trade. Although almost inevitable, grey market can grow to become an outright
nuisance for manufacturers when unauthorized dealers control a large part of
the market’s distribution process. Grey market brokers often act as a great
competition to the main manufacturers when they offer prices that are appealing
to consumers.
TheVikings Blade has one of the best razors available in the market today. The
product has been received by men of the shaving world as a masterpiece because
of the quality of the razor. With this success came other brands looking to
copy its design. Brands like Smoothere, eBetter, Jtrim, and Bigfoot Shave. If
care is not taken, these copycat brands can affect the original manufacturer in
one of these ways:
Damaging the Trademark Image
Many
customers look towards quality over quantity. When the manufacturer has
succeeded in offering this quality to customers at a given price, the grey
market can damage this reputation. By acquiring defective products or outright
copying of the designs, grey market brokers can make the exact same product
using cheaper materials and offer it at a cheaper price. This would have an
adverse effect on the manufacturer in the short and long run, if care is not
taken.
Legal Liabilities
Since
the products are usually an exact copy of the original in design, they often
fail to meet with the laid down standards of the manufacturer. These inferior
products may cause legal liabilities for the company when customers begin to
sue for damages.
Marketing Strategy is disrupted
Companies tend to
have marketing strategies and the financial and profit projections. With the
activities of grey market brokers and copycat brands,
this will ultimately affect the manufacturers planned out market strategies.
No comments:
Post a Comment