JOHN A. QUELCH HEATHER BECKHAM

Culinarian Cookware: Pondering Price Promotion

On November 6, 2006, the vice president of marketing of Culinarian Cookware (Culinarian), Donald Janus, and the senior sales manager, Victoria Brown, met to discuss whether or not the company should offer a price promotion for the company’s line of premium cookware in the coming year. These two executives had very different views on the value of a price promotion and the role it could play in the company’s marketing strategy. Janus expressed his opinion first:

Brown knew that Janus was determined above all else that Culinarian should remain known as a high-quality product and an elite brand—“an American icon” was Janus’s term—and that all good things would flow from that status. He grew wary when he perceived, rightly or wrongly, a hint of a threat to that status. Still, Brown was obliged to be candid. She said:

Do

No

I believe we need to be bolder with our price promotions. The number one complaint that my sale force hears from the trade accounts is the lack of consistent and meaningful price discount events. Providing a 30% discount promotion will increase commitment and support from the trade and will boost our overall brand awareness. It’ll also provide us with new customers who would otherwise not purchase because they feel the suggested retail is too high and encourage current customers to immediately purchase additional pieces. And yes, I think if the data in the consulting study is re-examined, you’ll see the 2004 price promotion was actually very profitable.

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HBS Professor John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham prepared this case solely as a basis for class discussion and not as an endorsement, a source of primary data, or an illustration of effective or