Rohm and Haas Case Study



Rohm and Haas Case Study

Question 1

Kathon 886 MW and Factors That Have Led To Its Failure

Kathon 886 MW is a superior biocide product that was introduced a number of years ago by Rohm and Haas. The key advantage of Kathon 886 MW is that it keeps clean the metalworking fluids in tanks for longer period of time compared to its competing products. So, the users of Kathon 886 MW would consequently require replacing the metalworking fluid less often in their tanks. Thus, Kathon 886 MW is one of the most beneficial brands for its target market and therefore it could be very successful in marketplace; but unfortunately certain factors have led it to failure. There are several factors that have all become the obstacles for Kathon 886 MW in becoming more successful in the marketplace, where major factors for failure are associated with marketing and finance. Case study points out that Kathon 886 MW target market reject utilizing metalworking fluid after 3 weeks, on average, mainly due to rancidity and dermatitis; and because of their belief that bacteria, non metal particles or strong chemicals, results in dermatitis. Though most of the customers hauled away their used fluid, but only few of them knew about its service cost. Further, the target market of Kathon 886 MW is fearful of using this product due to safety issues and need to know proper handling techniques, where, most of the targeted people do not even remember about the Kathon 886 MW information packet. Kathon 886 MW placement also led it failure as its consumers obtain metalworking fluid from small suppliers like formulators; oil companies; tool shops; or industrial supply shops, and do not usually write for supplies to large national distributors that are not located locally. Most of the people do not even use biocides, and even if they use they don't recognize its name. So, these factors greatly emphasizes on Kathon 886 MW's marketing issues, since most of the customers do not even realize the importance or value of biocides, especially Kathon 886 MW, and are not inclined towards the benefits it offers. Further, targeted customers lack the safety information they needed for using the Kathon 866 MW and therefore they scared of using this harsh product. Thus, one of the major reasons behind failure of Kathon 886 MW is its ineffective and inadequate marketing. Another major factor that has resulted in Kathon 886 MW's failure in marketplace is its finance strategies. Tris Nitro is one of the competing brands for Kathon 886 MW. This brand is inferior and was available in market when Kathon 886 MW was introduced. The pricing policy set by Rohm and Haas resulted in equal margin for distributors on both products, Kathon 886 MW and Tris Nitro, i.e. approximately equal at $1 per unit. However, due to Tris Nitro's product design, consumers require to repurchase it every three days on average. On the other hand, Kathon 886 MW customers require repurchasing the product ...