Nundies Case

I. PROBLEM DEFINITION

Nundies main objective is to offer a product that is comfortable and convenient for women hate visible panty lines or enjoy going “commando”. Nundies has the advantage by offering a product that has no direct competition, only available substitutes.

The main problem that Nundies has been facing is that the store repurchase rate by companies has not met Nundies expectations. About 6% of stores placed additional units beyond the initial purchase. Additionally, online purchases are not used frequently.

Another problem is that store personnel that sell Nundies, have not been suggesting or talking about Nundies to customers. Furthermore, the displays for Nundies seem to merge in with the other merchandise in the store, which has a big impact on sales. If the stores are not properly displaying the merchandise and the sales associates do not promote Nundies this will lead to a decrease in sales and impact the company from reordering Nundies, which affects Nundies overall sales and profits.

II. SITUATION ANALYSIS

Nundies is a single-use, disposable panty that sticks to the inseam of women’s leggings, athletic wear, shorts, and jeans. This product helps women maintain a degree of protection when they decide not to wear underwear. The introduction of the new product “Nundies” by Advanced Materials Inc. is a transition from a foam fabricator manufacturing business to a proprietary medical and consumer products. Nundies is a true departure from the ordinary product offered by Advanced Materials, Inc.

AMI manufacturing estimated that the labor and material costs to produce a single liner would only be $.60. Three colors/package options would be produced including, black, buff and assorted. The liners would be packaged in a colorful 5-count plastic pillow package, which

would cost about $.45 per unite to produce. The wholesale price to retail store would be $7.00 for each 5-count package. Moreover, manufacturer’s agent would be paid 12 percent commission on the wholesale price for each 5-count package sold. This agent is responsible to establish the distribution coverage among women’s boutique store and specialty shops for Nundies. Based on Nundies’ marketing research, women’s boutique and specialty shops account for the largest percentage of women’s underwear sales (30.9%), followed by department stores (30.7%), mass merchandise and warehouse club stores (29.1%), and other retail outlets such as internet retailers (9.1%).

According to a nationwide research conducted by Nundies among 1,042 women between the ages of 18-49 revealed that:

 84% of women would be interested in a product that would eliminate panty lines

 81% of women said “yes” to the questions would