Folie 1

1
Role-play
The Portfolio Matrix as an Instrument for
Analyzing Product Ranges

Mr Stone is the new English speaking managing
director of Office Design, a company that
produces office furniture in Germany. Today he
has invited his marketing manager, Mrs Rieger,
and her assistant, Mr Bernett, to a meeting.
Mr Stone Good morning. I would like to come to the point immediately. As you have certainly heard in the news, one of our largest competitors, the Hülva GmbH has announced the end of production of several product lines.
Mrs Rieger Yes, I know. But I must say that Im not surprised. They have failed to adjust to the changing market.
Mr Bernett Thats right. In fact, they have completely ignored new ecological and ergonomic trends. Instead they invested in the orange furniture line of the seventies, although the peak of these products was over a long time ago.
Mrs Rieger And sales dropped dramatically and there was no follow-on product. It takes a long time to develop a new product line.
Mr Stone This is probably the reason, why Hülva will close down. Okay, I dont want this happen to us. What can we do?