Soren Chemicals

Presented by:
Group 8
Aishwarya Solanki
Bhavana Chapule
Bidisha Pao
Deeksha A
Deeksha Singh
Kanika Bhagat

1
Case Overview
COMPANY

● Founded in 1942 to sell industrial cleaning solutions

● In 2006, revenues reached $450 million
● Operated mostly through business-to-business customers, and did not focus on branding
● Two products for pool cleaning - Kailan MW for commercial market, Coracle for consumer market
● In 2006, Kailan MW had a sales of $1.6 million and 7% growth rate
● Launch of Coracle for consumer market - priced at $25
● Soren wanted to focus on branding its products and setting to consumers

CUSTOMERS

● Residential Consumers
● Commercial Consumers
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COMPETITORS

● Keystone Chemicals
● Kymera
● Jackson Labs

COLLABORATORS

● Formulators
● Wholesale Distributors
● Pool Specialty Retailers
● Pool Service Professionals

CONTEXT

● Residential pool market was relatively fragmented

● Significant untapped market of residential pool was there still to be catered

3
Why is Soren Chemical struggling to sell Coracle?

● Selling to wholesale distributors is proving to be unsuccessful as most consumers are not able to
purchase
● Distributors are not stocking Soren Chemicals’ product
● Only 25% consumers have knowledge about pool cleansing to make an informed decision
● Focusing on selling to distributors instead of to the consumers, as well as sell to professional pool
cleaning companies

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How would you describe the selling process for Kailan
MW versus Coracle?
Kailan MW Coracle

7 Formulators Wholesale Distributors

Provided a complete package of products Product sold separately

for pool cleaning

Purchased through distributors Purchased through retailers

Concerns - waterborne disease and Concerns - aesthetics and perceived

swimmer safety cleanliness

5
What action plan do you recommend for Coracle?

● Selling diluted Kailan MW for private usage

● Higher price compared to competitors - even though overall cost is lower
● Shift in marketing approach - from B2B to wholesale distributors
● Trying to appeal to final consumers instead of buyers
● Fragmented market
● Less awareness among residential customers

6
Given its superior performance, how can Coracle be
priced relative to the competition? What are the
constraints?
● As per table 1, the price of Coracle is $25 and annual cost of the same is $39.8.
● From exhibit 3, Annual average cost of clarifiers at retail prices (recommended regime)= $50
● Therefore , there is a gap of $10.2 that Soren Chemical can fill by pricing it at a higher price
● So, if the price becomes equal to 32$, then the annual cost can be $50

Constraints

● Since the price per container is already high compared to its competitors, selling it at a higher price
might be difficult
● It will require a huge investment on advertising and promotion which will lead to hefty expenses

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What action plan do you recommend for Coracle?
Should Soren Chemical adopt a “push” or a “pull”
strategy?
● Soren should go for a combination of push and pull strategy because there is already no support from
the distributors/ retailers.Pool service professionals and specialty retailers had made inquires about Coracle
but only 30% recalled receiving the Coracle material. Also 70% of them stated that Coracle had not been
offered by their distributors. Start with sending the brochure along with the mails to all the service
professionals and specialty retailers who asked for the information regarding Coracle
● By increasing the price of product, they can increase the margin and incentives given to the retailers and
distributors. This would increase the shelf space for them.
● Currently, Soren Chemicals is focusing on the safety side of the Coracle, but it should also focus on the value
that it provides to consumers annually.
● Start advertising for the Coracle through different media, propagating its salient features in order to increase
the awareness among the customers as currently the customers are not that aware about the product

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THANK YOU