In$-$Class Activity $101$: Determining market exposure policies

Learning Objective

This activity helps achieve the following learning objectives from Essentials of Marketing:

LO$10\mathrm{.}1$: Understand what product classes suggest about Place objectives.

LO$10\mathrm{.}6$: Understand the differences between intensive, selective, and exclusive distribution.

Assignment

This exercise will give you some practice in determining the ideal degree of market exposure for a company. Read each case carefully and then indicate:

a$)$ the product class which is involved,

b$)$ the degree of market exposure $($intensive$,$ selective, or exclusive$)$ which you think would be ideal, and

c$)$ explain why you think the indicated degree of market exposure would be ideal. State any assumptions that you have made.

Note: Ideal here means the degree of market exposure which will satisfy the target customers' needs $($but not exceed them$)$ and also will be achievable by the producer. For example, a new producer of homogeneous cookies might desire intensive distribution, but agree to sell to only a few food chains because it knows it will not be able to obtain intensive distribution with its undifferentiated cookies. So its ideal is selective distribution, and it will adjust the rest of its marketing mix accordingly.

$1.$ Hart Dinettes, Inc. manufactures a wide line of kitchen dinette sets for sale throughout the United States. The products are distributed through retail outlets. Retailers are supposed to stock a large assortment of dinette sets, along with a large inventory of replacement parts. The tables and chairs are usually shipped to the retailers unassembled. According to a recent cost study, $30$ percent of Hart's retailers account for about $80$ percent of the company's sales.