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Case 4: Kingsford Charcoal

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CASE 4: KINGSFORD CHARCOAL 1. Analyze the consumer behaviour and changes in behaviour, as it pertains to grilling.
In America, making barbecue is a culinary art. Cooking Barbecue produces more than simply grilling a steak or a burger; it is associated with a fun and festive spirit. As it is written in the case, “It’s about playing with fire under an open sky, wielding a mean spatula in one hand, a cool drink in the others.” More than that, barbecue gives a great flavor to the food, and it implied being outdoors while hanging out with friends and family. Also, because the concepts itself makes the dinner very informal it procure a change of pace. Although the numbers of Barbecue events has been increasing, it is still a seasonal event as it requires the weather to be good.
People have usually two options concerning their grilling methods, charcoal and gas grilling. Consumers looking for convenience, greater control over cooking temperature, short cooking time and ease of clean up, will choose to use gas grilling. The one’s interested for the hands on experience and the flavor imparted to the food will go with charcoal.
According to Exhibit 6, we can see that the main change in the consumer behavior was the trends concerning the grilling methods. In fact, in 2000 gas grill shipments grew 8 percent relative to 1999, while charcoal grill shipments dropped 3 percent year over year. To conclude, the charcoal grill penetration had tended down since 1997 with only 49 percent of household owning a charcoal grill, while gas grill had trended up.

How did Clorox get itself into this situation? (what did they neglect to do)
As I mentioned it above, the method of grilling trended up to gas grilling, putting the all charcoal category in a weaker position. Porters 5 forces state that one of the forces is the threat by substitute product. Gas grilling is a direct

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