What is RI-SUP's positioning in the paddleboard market (please "draw" a positioning map using generic competitor names).

What is RI-SUPs competitive advantage?

In 2005 Reid Johnson opened a specialty paddle board store in Narragansett Rhode Island that sold paddleboards and offered paddling lessons. At that time paddling was esoteric sport due to the signicant cost of equipment mostly handcrafted wood, that took an experienced craftsman as much as 100 hours to make. Standup paddle boarding also often involved expensive travel to reach big waves that paddleboarders ardently preferred. Johnson began making his own boards in 2007 when fiberglass emerged as an alternative to wood. He recognized that these far less expensive boards would make the sport available to a much larger target market. His has deep knowledge of all types of paddle boarding enabled him to design and craft boards with stability and responsiveness that soon made Rl-SUP a top choice among serious paddleboa rders. The more affordable designs were also attractive to occasional paddleboarde rs. Several of his designs were signicant enough to patent. The company rapidly expanded as it developed state of the art paddleboards from new graphite composites which weighed less but were stronger than berglass. Johnson maintained tight focus on paddling by avid and competitive paddleboarders. In 2009 R. Johnson moved the company to a new manufacturing facility near Providence Rhode Island. Rl-SUP began to create its own blanks that were formed into the boards, thus controlling the entire manufacturing process. It introduced several board designs including the Newport brand which used a new boron graphite composite that was even stronger and more versatile than the previously used graphite. Newport became Rl-SUP master brand forfull line of SUP's that offered different performance features on a range of price points. The line won considerable praise from paddleboarders and the company was recognized as a high-quality supplier--in a class with the industry's best. R. Johnson's daughter, AmberJohnson joined the company in 2012. A. Johnson who had an MBA from the University of Rhode Island started as Rl-SUP's marketing director, implementing a communications program that increased awareness of the company and strengthened its position is a leading brand for serious paddle boarders. She expanded the Newport line by developing several sub brands with different characteristics and price points. She also lead the opening of RI-SUP's distribution to some emerging large retailers of paddleboard equipment like REI and EMS. A. Johnson became Rl-SUP president in 2015. Rl-SUP concentrated on paddle boards aimed at a variety of paddleboarde rs from competitive to occasional but its primary market was avid paddleboa rders between the ages of 25 to 40 whom the company believed could commit some substantial time and dollars to the sport. It's Newport brand - the Old School, the Mid-day, and the Long One were all positioned as high- quality multiuse boards. Each item in the line had specific characteristics appropriate for different paddling conditions but all were targeted to avid paddleboa rders. Rl-SUP also provided strong point of sales (P05) support to a specialty retailers and sponsored certain clinics at many of them. o nson e leve a - I eren Ia e I e y usmg e mos a vance ma em 5 available and careful craftsmanship. However, she was concerned that avid paddleboarders might not view it as a leader. A. Johnson believed that Rl-SUP did not fully understand the motivations of the various consumers of paddleboard equipment especially regarding brand perceptions. She felt that Rl-SUPs marketing efforts had failed to convey its quality and value story and that as a result the company's equipment was now considered mid-tier. The US paddleboard market Paddleboard equipment was a $7.4 billion retail business. Over 51 million US residents participated in some form of paddling or surng annually. Paddleboads and accessories were a $2.5 billion part of this business. Thirty-two percent of paddleboarders bought boards annually at an average price of $896. Of this consumer group, 6.5 million US residents were paddleboarders. Standup paddling was different from regular paddling in several ways. It required less skill but special gear. The paddleboarders population ranged in age from 6 to 90. Most had some college education (65%). Many had annual incomes above $75,000 (45%), and a large percentage were women (53%) and/or ethnic minorities (30%). Paddle boarding was a growing sport especially as more people retired. The industry segmented customers as beginners occasional serious/avid, and competitive and/or professional paddleboarders. Competitive and avid paddleboarders accounted for 80% of the travel equipment spending in the category but comprised only 3.5% and 40% of paddleboarders respectively. (See Exhibit 2 at the end for a summary of a market survey that RI-SUP conducted in 2017.) Paddleboard suppliers tend to be very conservative in advertising and promotion, with most ads using similar messages and visuals and targeted to key consumers. Most paddle boarding occurred in flat water (lakes and bays), but some paddleboarders also paddled in wavy locations (big and small waves). Paddleboarders used different boards depending on water and weather conditions and the type of paddling they were doing. For example, some boards could be as long as 18 feet long. Some boards were inflatable for ease of transportation. Competition The paddling equipment industry was fragmented with over 25 companies selling more than $20 million worth of paddleboards annually. Several well-known suppliers such as Orbison Berkeley, provided full lines of equipment and accessories. Major sporting goods retailers such as LL. Bean, REI, EMS and Dick's Sporting Goods carried several prominent band brands and sold their own private label offerings. Although some companies offered all around boards the compromised paddling and movement efficiency to accommodate a wider range of conditions, most company competitors concentrated on narrow market segments that often reflected their owner's identification with the segment rather than objective research. For example, Thomas and Thomas focused on small boards built to maneuver and handle big waves. Other competitors specialized in quick boards for race touring. Generally, the more expensive the board the more likely it would be designed for a single activity with a narrow focus. Most paddleboard manufacturer supported their lines with consistent geographically concentrated distribution and marketing activities. For example, Thomas and Thomas sold its boards via coastal area distributors, sponsored big wave paddling tournaments and hosted local surfing clinics that employed well known and often local paddleboarder surfers. Like other sporting goods marketing, paddle board equipment companies try to position their products as the choice of professionals ("You know it's the best if the pros use it\")