Jade Shampoo (a)

Debbie Kennedy has just received word that her ideas for a product improvement of Jade Shampoo have culminated in test-market results above the break-even point, and she is anxious to move ahead with a national introduction. Her manager is concerned with the wide variation in results. Should she advocate the national introduction? Also see the B case (UVA-QA-0454) Excerpt UVA-QA-0380 JADE SHAMPOO (A) Debbie Kennedy, assistant product manager for Jade Shampoo, was delighted with the results of the just-completed test market of her proposed change to the Jade bottle cap. From the beginning of the 18-month project, she had been convinced that replacing Jade's traditional twist-off cap with a more convenient flip-top-dispenser cap would more than pay for itself in increased sales and profits. The test results confirmed her position—sales in the test market exceeded the break-even level. The only remaining hurdle was to convince the product manager to endorse the national introduction of the change. Shampoo Market The shampoo market was one of the most competitive, highly fragmented markets in the health-and-beauty-aids (HBA) business. With retail sales exceeding $ 1.8 billion in 1986, it was the largest HBA category after analgesics. The category was very profitable, with high margins and simple technology, and it was fashion driven, with different additives and scents appealing to different consumers. As a result, there were over 200 national shampoo brands, most of them commanding less than 1 percent of the market. . . .