Case Study

Walker-Winkle Mills, Ltd is a world-wide company that distributes high quality food products with headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Canadian sales make up roughly 16% of total sales with the world-wide market bringing in $2.8 billion in 2007 while the Canadian market only made up $450 million total sales.

The problem facing Walker-Winkle Mills is in the Province of Quebec where they have seen a declining trend in total sales over the past two years where the vast majority of the market is French-speaking. A declining job market combined with a rise of inflation could be to blame for the loss of sales or it could be that Walker-Winkle Mills is simply losing the market share. The current approach is a single target market which is very contradictory to the social and economic stature of Quebec. Quebec is not big box it is mom and pop and Walker-Winkle Mills doesn’t seem to have that mind-set. With a switch to more of a global idea Walker-Winkle Mills needs to expand their market approach to multiple target.

With the current single target approach customers are obviously being lost in the Quebec Market because the French-speaking population’s needs aren’t being met. They may enjoy the products that Walker-Winkle Mills distribute but they aren’t being targeted in a tougher economic time. With a shaky economy people look for comfort and products that appeal to them and with English-Language ads being the norm, the French-speaking population will socially shy from it and in turn will shy from it economically during harder times.

I believe that with the current down turn economically and the negative trend over the past two years in Quebec lends itself to a need for a multiple target approach. Jackie Provence is on target with the assertion that a unique marketing plan for Quebec needs to be imminent. I feel Boudreau needs to focus on a few products to see if the trend does in fact change. By marketing a few of the highest consumed items in a purely French...