Fire Angel Ltd. Based in the Midlands, Lusaka, Angel Safe plc designs, manufactures, sources and distributes an extensive range of home safety products. The subsidiary company, Fire Angel Ltd., which employs 15 people and makes a range of household fire alarms, has established a strong Zambian retail presence. Annual sales are ZMW 55 million, but the company has recently experienced a dip in volumes as a result of retailers reducing inventories from six to eight weeks' worth of stock to one or two weeks. According to Managing Director, Kabeshi Mumba, "Clearly we are not immune to the current economic climate; however, in less certain times people want to protect what they have a little more. We are not the biggest supplier in the industry, but we are finding that retail sales of our products are holding up reasonably well as homeowners look to protect their properties and social landlords comply with fire safety regulations." Fire Angel Ltd. continues to develop innovative solutions and is planning to launch a brand new WiAngel alarm system which combines a flashing strobe and vibrating pillow pad alarm system. The system aims to provide complete and cost-effective (prices start at under ZMW 500) solution to the hearing impaired. Presently over 9 million people in the Zambia exhibit some degree of hearing loss. In the Zambia, sales of household smoke alarms have until recently enjoyed strong growth because of high levels of media attention. Volumes are expected to stabilize over the next few years.

Ques

Discuss with examples of the any two types of purchasing decision that fire angels may face in its market?

Why should the marketing manager for angel safe plc understand the product life cycle and its application? (5 marks)