Merit Enterprises, marketing homework help

Merit Enterprises, marketing homework help

Your company, Merit Enterprises, markets a variety of consumer products similar to that of Lever Brothers, Incorporated (toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, etc.).

Brite-White (a toothpaste introduced in 1982) is one of ten products marketed by the Personal Products division of Merit Enterprises. Brite-White Toothpaste has a 2.6% share of the overall toothpaste market in May 2016, down from 3.15% of the market in 2007. Total dollar sales of your ten products in 2015 were $2.86B – net profitability of the division, after taxes, is $254M. Brite-White generates sales of $45M and generates $3.1M in net profit.

Brite-White’s primary competition includes the families of toothpastes from CREST (22% of the toothpaste market), Colgate (21%), and Ultrabrite (16%) These are the Top Three toothpaste families and their market share (at least for this mini-case study). Annual USA market growth for toothpaste is about 1.9% a year, primarily due to population growth.

You are the Division Vice President. As such you are responsible for the division’s overall growth and overall profitability.

Given this responsibility for overall division profitability and managing products, what STRATEGIC marketing recommendation would you make to your company president as to what to do with Brite-White? What are the benefits AND risks of your recommendations to your president, assuming they are implemented?