Marketing environment Essay Example for Free

selling environment EssayProduct Offerings Kelloggs is in the eat food grain market. It principal produces are related to ready-to-eat cereals. In addition to this the company also manufactures and sells many convenience foods much(prenominal) as crackers, cereal bars, veggie foods, frozen waffles, toaster pastries, fruit snacks cookies etc. As of 2009, the manufacturing of these crossroads took place in 19 countries across the world and were sold in over 180 countries. The companys brands embroil Kelloggs, Keebler, Cheez-It, Murray, Austin and Famous Amos.The company also has several brand names attached to its products such as Apple Jacks, Mueslix, Pops, Corn Pops, Cruncheroos, Bran Buds, Cocoa Krispies, special K, Smacks etc in US Suchrilos and related products and Zucharita and related products in Latin America Vive and Vector in Canada Optima, Choco Pops, Muslix, Honey Loops, Country Store, Ricicles etc in Europe Cerola, Sultana Bran, BeBig, Chex, Frosties etc. in As ia and Australia (Kelloggs Investor Information). Following is the market share for the diametrical cereal brands over the past 14 years. condition of speech 12 Most Popular Cereal Brands (Topher, 2008) Target markets Customers Kelloggs has separated its business into two divisions matrimony America and International. The company generates two thirds of its revenues in North America which consists of United States and Canada. These are shown in the radiation pattern down the stairs. physical body 13 Kelloggs market sales by region, in millions (wikinvest, 2009) In United States, the biggest sell consumer of Kelloggs are the Wal-Mart Stores that accounts for about 20% of its net sale. In fact no other consumer accounts for more than than 10% of its net sales.Kelloggs revenue in North America is further divided into different sections based on product types such as cereals, snacks and frozen and specialty categories. This is shown in the exercise below. Fig 14 Kelloggs sales by Product Category (wikinvest, 2009) Competition The company faces contestation for sales of all of its principal products in its major markets, both domestically and internationally. The Companys products compete with advertised and branded products of a similar nature as well as unadvertised and private label products, which are distributed at begin prices, and also with other food products with different characteristics.Principal factors for competition include new product introductions, product quality, composition, and nutritional value, price, advertising and advancement (Kellogg). The primary competitors of Kelloggs are General Mills and Kraft which sells breakfast cereal under the Pos brand. Among this the revenues of Kraft are triple as compared to the other two brands with its leading segment being snacks. However, both Kelloggs and General Mills receive more of their revenues from the cereal segment. The table below shows the company comparison.Company Net Reven ues (in millions) International Revenues as % of sales Gross Margin % Kelloggs $ 10,906 32. 6% 44. 2% General Mills $ 12,442 17% 36% Kraft $ 34,356 32. 4 36. 1% Table 15 Company Comparison (wikinvest, 2009) Supply chain As mentioned, Wal-Mart accounts for about 20% of the companys product sales in United States. The company uses both its sales force as well as business arrangements with brokers and distributors to sell its products. The products are eventually resold to consumers in retail stores, restaurants and other food service establishments (Kelloggs Investor Information).The symbol below gives the different types of distribution channels of the company. Fig 16 Kelloggs distribution conduct (http//www. docstoc. com/docs/3584505/Kellogg%EF%BF%BDs-Marketing-Strategy-and-Marketing-Plans ) Market position Product Sales Regardless of the bad moments it has faced over the year, especially ingrained the 1990s, Kelloggs still the market leader in the US cereal market. Despite inc reasing competition Kelloggs has slowly increased its share in the market and control about 1/third of the market. This is followed by General Mills and Quaker and Post.In addition to this, Kelloggs controls as much as 50% of the market for new cereals in the United States with the introduction of more new cereals than either of its competitors. The figure below shows the 2008 US cereal market. Fig 17 US Cereal Market Share (wikinvest, 2009) The figure below shows the market share trends for the top cereal producers over the past 10 years. Fig 18 Market share trends for the past 10 years (Topher, 2008) Employment Financial statistics The company employs about 32400 employees general which its latest figures as of 2009.It has generated about 12. 8 billion in net worldwide sales of which its earning were $ 1. 1 billion. The company keeps low sales targets for its internal net sales since it is a mature market. The figures are betwixt 1-3 %. The company exceeded this target with a net sales growth of 9% in the year 2008 and a growth rate of 5. 4. The targets for internal operating margins are between 4-6% which the company achieved by reaching a figure of 4. 5%. The net earnings per share target for the company is between 7-9%.The company achieved a diluted earning per share grew by 8% which the currency neutral EPS grew by 10% which was more than its target. The figure below shows the financial highlights of the company for the past 3 years. Fig 19 Kelloggs 2008 financial highlights (Kelloggs Investor Information) Since one of the major draws of the company is the innovation of its products,, the company sets aside a considerable budget for RD. The uptake figures for this head were $181 million in 2008. The corresponding budget was $ 171 million in 2007 and $191 million in 2006.Marketing Advertising The company has an excellent marketing team which has used varied channels for sales and promotion of its products. These include Mass Advertising popular characters like Tony the TigerTM and Snap Crackle Pop TM, on TV Direct Promotions Coupons Trade Promotions In-store displays, Samples Personal Selling Prime-account reps, Area reps Penetration Chain stores, Independent wholesalers Sales impart Brand equity Logistics Finished goods warehouse centers or independent warehouses (Kelloggs Company Products).