Question

This is a Marketing : Pricing Strategy Question!

Pricing Strategy - Marketing

Incremental Break Even Analysis, Complements & Substitutes, Pricing and Distribution

KDrink Assignment

The KDrink Company sells bottled water for offices and homes. The price of the water is $20

per 10 gallon bottle and the company currently sells 2000 bottles per day. Following are the

company’s income and costs on a daily basis:

Sales Revenue $40,000

Variable Cost $16,000

Fixed Cost $20,000

[Note: You can assume that variable costs are constant so that the average of them is also the

unit variable cost.]

The company is enjoying stable demand with its current pricing, but management is looking

for ways to increase profitability. One suggestion is that the company reposition its water as a

premium product, justifying a higher price. If successful, the company believes that it could

charge 20% more for its water than it does now.

1. What is the maximum sales loss (in % and units) that KDrink could tolerate before a

20% price increase would fail to make a positive contribution to its profitability (i.e.,

what is the basic break-even sales change)?

2. By how much would KDrink’s contribution increase/decrease if its sales declined by

15% following the price increase?

3. In order for KDrink to reposition as a premium water, management believes that it

will have to upgrade the packaging of its product. The company will deliver the water

in glass rather than plastic bottles and the bottles will be “safety sealed” to insure

their cleanliness until the covering is removed in the customer’s home. These changes

will add $1.00 per bottle to the variable cost. What is the maximum sales loss KDrink

could have for the 20% price increase to remain profitable?

4. To reposition its water as a premium product, KDrink will require an increase in its

advertising and promotion budget of $900 daily (in addition to the increase in

variable cost mentioned above). What is the maximum sales loss KDrink could

tolerate before a 20% price increase would fail to increase its net profit?

5. In addition to the bottled water, KDrink offers flavored drink powders to mix into the

water. Each powder pack sells for $5 and has a variable cost of $1. If 10% of

KDrink’s customers buy one pack per bottle of water they buy, what is the maximum

sales loss QDrink could tolerate before a 20% price increase would fail to increase its

net profit (still including the change in variable cost and the added advertising

expenditure)?

6. KDrink’s management considers producing the bottles they use themselves instead of

buying them from a supplier. This would reduce the variable cost (not paying the

supplier), but in turn increase the fixed cost (additional machinery to produce the

bottles).

Would this change make KDrink more or less likely to pursue the idea of the

premium water? Please explain your answer.

Answer 1