市场学case12distributionchannels.doc

Company case 12 (distribution channels) ICON ACOUSTICS: BYPASSING TRADITION The dream Like most entrepreneurs, Dave Fokos dreams a lot. He imagines customers eagerly phoning Icon Acoustics in Billerica, Massachusetts, to order his latest, customer-made stereo speakers. He sees sales climbing, cash flowing, and hundreds of happy workers striving to produce top-quality products that delight Icon’s customers. Like most entrepreneurs, Dave has taken a long time to develop his dream. While majoring in electrical engineering at Cornell, Dave discovered that he had a strong interest in audio engineering. Following graduation, Dave landed a job as a speaker designer with Conrad-Johnson, a high-end audio-equipment manufacturer. Within four years, Dave had designed 13 speaker models and decided to start his own company. Dave identified a market niche that he felt other speaker firms had overlooked. The niche consisted of “audio-addicts”—people who love to listen to music and appreciate first-rate stereo equipment. These affluent, well-educated customers are genuinely obsessed with their stereo equipment. “They’d rather buy a new set of speakers than eat,” Dave observes. Dave faced one major problem – how to distribute Icon’s products. He had learned from experience at Conrad-Johnson that most manufacturers distribute their equipment primarily through stereo dealers. Dave did not hold a high opinion of most such dealers; he felt that they too often played hardball with manufacturers, forcing them to accept thin margins. Furthermore, the dealers concentrated on only a handful of well-known producers who provided mass-produced models. This kept those firms that offered more customized products from gaining access to the market. Perhaps most disturbing, Dave felt that the established dealers often sold not what was best for customers, but whatever they had in inventory that month. Dave dreamed of offering high-end stereo loudspeakers directly to the audio-obsessed, bypassing the