Case Study

Philips Sonicare: Launching a revolutionary electric toothbrush in Europe

29 pages
August 2005
Reference: IMD-5-0680

In 2000 Philips acquired Optiva, the leading manufacturer of sonic toothbrushes (Sonicare) in the US. Sonicare had captured over 50% of the US electric toothbrush market. Philips Oral Healthcare was keen to replicate the impressive success of Sonicare worldwide. With less than 20% market penetration, power toothbrushes offered tremendous opportunities for growth. But initial results from Sonicare’s UK launch had been disappointing and results from Germany seemed no better. The Netherlands retail launch was coming up in a matter of weeks. So far, these markets seemed to behave differently from the US, both at the retail and dental professional levels. Philips had to develop a European re-launch strategy and bring Sonicare into the market faster.

Keywords
Fast-moving Consumer Goods, Product Launch, Professional Marketing
Settings
Europe, United States of America
2003
Type
Field Research
Copyright
© 2005
Available Languages
English
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