Barco and Haas

BARCO CASE WRITE-UP

Problem Statement. BPS had historically been the leader in the niche high-end projection market and enjoyed a first mover advantage which enabled them to employ a price-skimming strategy that targeted a niche market. However, BPS has not been innovating at the high-end of the market in the last year and a half. As a result, Sony came in to fill that gap in the market.

Alternative 1: Continue with the development of BD700 and introduce it on time in October.

Pros: There are already orders from the BPS’ German distributor (pg12) and others. If they perceive BPS as not able to deliver their promised offering in time, they might lose their loyalty to BPS. Also, the engineers have been working over-time for the development of BD700, introducing it on time would increase their morale.

Cons: Sony’s new product 1270 has the power to scan up to 75 kHZ and is likely to be priced between $15,000 to $20,000. This is a much better scan rate than that of BD700 (which has a64 kHz scan rate) and is priced at $16,000. So BD700 will not look like a great deal to customers. Especially if Sony decides to introduce it at $15,000. Barco might not continue its reputation as the tech-leader, when its products have lower scan rates compared to that of Sony’s.

Alternative 2: Introduce BG700

I would expect you to do a similar pros and cons analysis for each alternative, supported with facts from the case, and use of tools that we will be learning at class to support your arguments.

Alternative 3: Introduce BG800

Pros: If Barco can introduce BG800 at Infocomm, with its 90Khz capacity it would be the best product in the market and once again can continue with its reputation and be able to ask a price premium for its products. With this alternative BPS would not need to engage in any price war with Sony. BG800 will be higher quality than Sony, so BPS can demand a higher price for it.

Cons: Claerbout gives BG800 only a 40% chance of making the...