The Canadian Moose Hat Company

The Canadian Moose Hat Company has manufactured winter hats (tuques) for almost 100 years. They began as a small company in Calgary, Alberta that designed and produced hats for skiers and people who went camping or hiking in the cold Canadian winters.

Their tuques were popular because they were light-weight and very warm. Originally the tuques used a combination of leather and fur. As material and production technology improved, they began to work new materials into their product design. This allowed the company to reduce costs and begin selling to a broader population.

The company's tuques are typically sold to men and women aged 18 and over. Men represented 75-80% of sales. Over 50% all sales were to repeat customers. Geographically, the company had the majority of its sales coming from Canada (50%) and northern United States (40%). Recently sales in Europe have started to grow. While the company has added in some additional product lines (such as scarves and mittens), Canadian Moose continued to depend on hat sales to be profitable.

The company has developed a new hat - the StayWarm Hat -- that is designed for babies and children up to the age of 2. The hat provides the same warmth that the traditional Canadian Moose tuques do, but also include an electronic sensor that sends a signal to the parent's smart phone or other electronic device if the child's head becomes too cold or too hot.

The Vice President of Marketing, Gino Freesen, explains: "We know that people are concerned about the safety and well-being of their young children. We believe that this new hat, the StayWarm, addresses a major concern."

Question 1: Which stage of the Consumer Decision Making Process will be the most important for this new product's success or failure? Explain.

Question 2: Which Motivation model best explains why this new hat will succeed or fail? Explain.