Case Report 1-

Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand

Marketing Management II

Submitted To:
Prof. Prashant Yatgiri

Submitted By:
FAS 47 – Working Group A1

 Chandrakant Vadluru – 20M110

 Chitra L – 20M112

 Kislaya Srivastava – 20M123

 Paarth Raaj Gupta – 20M130

 Ritesh Naik – 20M134

 Sneha Bhujbal – 20M147

Batch – 2020-2022
1. What are the reasons for declining market share of Altius Golf? Does it have the option
to maintain status quo in the given situation?
Ans: From Exhibit 2 we can see that the unit sales and dollar sales for Altius is decreasing from
2008 to 2012, whereas the same for the competitors is increasing with their offerings. The
competitors are eating into Altius’ market share.
Following are some possible reasons:
1) Post the recession in 2008, number of new golfers had fallen. In 2003, there were 31 million
golfers across the country. In a decade it fell below 26 million golfers. And the few who take up the
sport tend to be less serious and more price-sensitive
2) Consumers had reduced most discretionary purchases, and golf equipment was no exception.
and decline in overall golf equipment sales— including clubs, balls, bags, shoes, and other apparel.
3) Altius had positioned VICTOR TX as the most popular choice for professionals. It was
positioned to target more serious and professional golfers. It most expensive in the market. And
focused all the sales and marketing focus on victor TX instead of their mid-range ball. At the same
time the competitors were coming up with new strategies like “Tee it forward” and “Play your way
Challenge”. They were targeting the less serious and beginners.
4) Consumer studies showed that high costs, lack of time, and the difficulty of the sport were
the leading reasons for not playing golf.
5) The net effect for equipment manufacturers was greater pricing pressure, as unit volumes fell
and buying power was consolidated among fewer, more powerful retail buyers.
6) 35% of golfers who did not buy Altius cited high prices as a deterrent to buying.
45% of lapsed golfers and 53% of non-golfers cited high costs as the top reason for not playing golf
at all, ahead of lack of time and believing the sport to be too difficult. 20% of Altius customers, 26%
of all current golfers, and 48% of lapsed or non-golfers, would be willing to try a non-conforming
ball.

No. We do not think that Altius has the option to maintain status quo in the given situation. The
industry trends are changing. Consumers are preferring more economy and value offering golf balls.
They are not averse to trying nontraditional golf balls. The competitors are offering lower prices and
a more enjoyable experience to the recreational golfers. With competitors already targeting the
beginners’ market, Altius is losing out on a large potential customer base. They should adopt the
elevate strategy.

2. What are the likely trade-offs Altius Golf needs to manage in future?
Ans:
In the off-course retailers their market share has already fallen by more than 5 points. As Altius is
manufacturing non-conforming and value golf balls with elevate. Previously they had sold their
premium products mainly through on course outlets. With elevate as mid-range product they need to
aggressively market it alongside their premium products in off course outlets.

Elevate brings in non-conforming golf balls. on-course shops would be less willing to give up limited
shelf space to a value offering and would likely object to a non-conforming ball. So Altius would
have to rely solely on off-course outlets to make sales.

Altius would have to start focusing more on brand agnostics rather than loyalists and enthusiasts.
While traditionally they marketed their victor TX line as for tour professionals, they must expand and
market their product as also fun and enjoyable for the beginners.

Moreover, they will have to offer 20% margin on elevate (low priced) to the retailers compared to the
15% they offered for Victor TX (high priced).

3. Will Elevate strategy benefit or pull down the position of Altius Golf in the
marketplace? Substantiate your stand with relevant reasons.

Ans:

Elevate Strategy will only benefit the position of Altius golf in the marketplace. The company enjoys
unmatched credibility and prestige. The recent research showed the brand remained prestigious and
nearly all golfers, including those who used other balls, viewed both the brand and the product line
positively. At the same time competitors’ brand perception was improved because of their value
offerings. And this was threatening the Altius brand. The research also showed 35% golfers did not
buy Altius because of high prices.

So, bringing in the Elevate series would only give the consumers value products. With the brand’s
popularity and value offerings, they can definitely benefit from the recreational and beginner
segments.

Elevate will be sold through the off-course channel and packaged the same as the Victor TX series. It
will also be sold side by side with Victor. Retailers had shown strong interest in seeing a lower-
priced product from Altius and openness to a non-conforming ball, particularly with the legitimacy
that the Altius brand would still confer. The retailer gross margin for the series would be increased to
20% so it will not have difficulty getting shelf space.

For ex, Equipment manufactures also introduced designs that could make the sport easier and more
accessible. Shoe manufacturers introduced spikeless shoes which were a more affordable and
became popular. Club manufacturers also refined their clubs to boost the ease of play. All these
changes happening in the market were accepted positively.

Their competitor Primiera launched a campaign “Play your way Challenge” which essentially
countered Altius’ positioning. This campaign generated tremendous excitement among both retailers,
enabling the company to penetrate new accounts and leading to more prominent placement in the
store. They quickly became bestsellers and gained market share at the expense of Altius and others.
Meridian marketed balls which were non-conforming and that also gained a huge response from the
golfers.

With the changing consumer behavior and industry trends backed up by above examples, we believe
Altius would benefit with their Elevate series.