**Write aFinancial Analysis**

on a separate appendix page (1 page)

. The financial analysis should be

approximately 1 page of

textual analysis

long, given the constraints of the financial

information available in the case.

All case analyses must have a financial analysis, no matter how

brief the financial information is presented in the

case.

SATURN CASE STUDY 1 Saturn Case Study Kalin Hardecopf FIU SATURN CASE STUDY 2 Saturn Case Study The Saturn case study points out a number of issues faced by the company and its parent company as a result of its following success. It highlights many critical issues that were contemplated by the company in order to ensure its success once it entered the market. The consideration given by the business entity with regard to these critical issues are some key reasons why the company had such a great start and many successful years that followed in their operation market. There are many critical issues that surfaced in the Saturn Corporation case study. One of the main issues and one of the first issues discussed in the article was brand equity. This was one of the issues that was considered by the company. From the start, brand equity was supported by many factors such as the perceived quality of the vehicle, the brand loyalty from the customers, the brand awareness and the brand associations. The company progressed in ensuring brand equity by ensuring that the supporting elements were at par. The perceived quality of their product was one of very high quality. This perception was created by the company an offer to return the customer money or replace the car if there were problems before the completion of a year or coverage of 1,500 miles or first thirty days. The brand awareness was done in two ways. There was the aided brand awareness, which had increased to seventy nine percent at the end of a year. The brand also marketed itself in that the unaided awareness accounted for fourteen percent of the total awareness achieved. Brand loyalty was present as the company cultivated a relationship with the customers which ensured that the customers became repeat customers. Brand associations were created through marketing and advertising of the company and the product. It was marketed as a friendly vehicle suitable for all. SATURN CASE STUDY 3 Another critical issue considered by the company was the retailer strategy. Many car companies lost their brand equity and sales as a result of poor retailer strategies such as the use of commissioned salespersons and the presence of price haggling at the dealerships. The company addressed this critical issue through the implementation of a retailer strategy that ensured the presence of salaried salespersons who had adequate and ample information about the vehicle produced and could inform the customer. The price was also fixed at the range of average car prices hence eliminating the need for price haggling. One critical aspect that determined the manner in which the company would be perceived and how it would proceed with its sales was the mission of the company and the manner in which it related with the customer. From the onset the company implemented a mission that advocated for the presence of a world class product at Saturn Corporation. The mission helped create the perception in the customers mind that the vehicle manufactured by the company was nothing short of a world class product. The quality imperative aspect was highly emphasized by the company and as such the perception of quality remained in the consumers' minds. Ultimately, Saturn failed because senior GM leaders didn't see the benefits of doing things a new way. Throughout the years of operations the company continuously cultivated the relationship between it and its customer to reflect their commitment to them and care with regards to the product they purchased from them. To demonstrate their commitment to them the company implemented a voluntary recall to replace a wire in the vehicle that had come loose. The company did this on a voluntary basis, tracked the customers down, made the adjustments in record time and offered barbecues, theater tickets and other assorted diversions to occupy the customers as their vehicles were being repaired. SATURN CASE STUDY 4 Other critical issues facing the company manifested themselves in the form of challenges. The company faced a number of challenges which were attributed to their immense success. They had the issue of maintaining the momentum in the view of increased competition from their competitors. They also had the challenge of communicating the brand to new customers who had no idea about it especially when the need came for the company to market the product and not the company. They also had the issue of keeping the retail culture in place. This was especially a challenge because in recent past a number of its competitors had replicated its retailer strategy and this had affected its sales as it was one of the distinguishing features offered by the company. In the face of these critical issues some which manifested themselves as challenges a number of viable alternatives were present for adoption in order to resolve the issue. Some of the viable alternatives present include the possibility of converting an existing GM plant into one of the production lines for Saturn Corporation. This would ensure that the company would produce enough units to make the investment from GM in them a viable and rewarding investment. Alternatively the parent company GM could transfer the Saturn approach to a number of its other plants. This would mean the transfer of the whole culture, personnel and distinguishing aspects of the offshoot company and integrating it into GM. Part of Executive Summary The company Saturn Corporation at the onset dealt with its issues in a very good manner in terms of the strategies employed. The company was able to generate a lot of success as a result of its strategies but consequently its success led to the development of other critical issues that needed handling in order to ensure the continued success and market relevance of the company. The parent company GM motors hence needed to consider the viable alternatives such as SATURN CASE STUDY 5 conversion of some GM plants or transferring the Saturn approach to the company in order to make their investment viable