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Case Leoxposure OuterwareWriting RequirementsAPA format, 3 pages in length (excluding cover page, abstract, and reference list)
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Chapter 1. Case
Loexposure Outerware
Background
LoExposure Outerware, a Colorado-based company, sells two primary product lines to specialty
outdoor stores throughout the United States. One product line, called No-Sun, protects
consumers from exposure to sunshine, and the other (No-Cold) is functional in cold
temperatures. LoExposure has been in business for eight years, and has become a favorite of
outdoor enthusiasts who value quality over price. Accordingly, LoExposure is among the higherpriced suppliers in the market. LoExposure promotes it brands through social media with avid
followers on Facebook and Instagram. Occasionally the company will use extreme athletes to
promote its brands at specific events, but does not believe in hiring celebrity spokespersons on a
longer-term basis. LoExposure does no formal advertising or sales promotion, preferring wordof-mouth and social media to spread the word about its product lines.
Current Situation
Kelly Kinard recently joined LoExposure as a sales representative in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Kelly’s primary customers are outdoor specialty stores in Salt Lake City, the university towns of
Logan and Provo, and in nearby ski areas such as Park City, Deer Valley, and Snowbird. With
the No-Cold and No-Sun product lines available, Kelly’s potential for year-round sales is
excellent. Kelly is a recent college graduate with a degree in marketing. He had several part-time
jobs as he worked his way through college. He also did an internship with LoExposure during his
senior year and was excited to land a full-time sales position upon graduation. During his
internship with LoExposure, Kelly became totally sold on the quality of the products. By the
time he finished his initial product knowledge and sales training with the company, Kelly was
genuinely enthusiastic about representing LoExpoure in his sales territory. After a few months in
the field, Kelly was doing well with existing customers and had added several new accounts.
After a great week in the field ended with adding a new retail account, Kelly told a friend, “this
is a great job. The products are so good, they practically sell themselves!”
Despite his success, Kelly had run into an obstacle with UpMountain Gear Shop, a small chain
with four stores in his territory. When Kelly first began pursuing UpMountain, he did some
Web-based research on the company. Kelly found that UpMountain was proud of its sales
growth in recent years and that the company attributed a lot its success to providing the highestquality products at competitive prices. Its customers seemed very pleased according to posts on
UpMountain’s Web site and in social media. According to Kelly’s research, UpMountain seemed
concerned about the environment, taking an especially strong stance against the “throwaway
society.” Kelly was pleased to learn these things about UpMountain, as his company had similar
views. LoExposure also attributed its success to providing the best customer experience possible.
In addition, LoExposure made extremely durable products backed by a generous repair warranty
that kept its products in use well beyond the typical life span for outdoor clothing.
When Kelly first approached Amanda Wilson, the lead clothing buyer for UpMountain, things
went well. Amanda was impressed that Kelly had done his homework on UpMountain and
pleased that the two companies shared core values related to the customer experience and
environmentally friendly practices. In their first meeting, Kelly had provided Amanda with an
overview of his two product lines and tried to determine what would be important to Amanda if
she were to further consider adding LoExposure as a supplier. Amanda was open with Kelly and
indicated that she was impressed with the products, but not sure they would fit in her stores. Near
the end of their first meeting, the following conversation took place:
Kelly:
Amanda, I hope you will agree that our products fit the bill in terms of high-quality at a
competitive price.
Amanda:
I agree on the high-quality piece, but am not sure about the pricing. Our customers want high
quality, but they also want really good value.
Kelly:
I understand completely and we have thousands of customers who tell us that our products are
worth the price. And of course you know that a higher retail price means more profits for
UpMountain.
Amanda:
Well, yes that’s obvious if it something we can sustain in the long run. But if we get greedy, we
can lose those loyal customers.
Kelly:
We both know that customers vote with their dollars and we have a great record of pleasing our
customers. In my opinion, your customers will see the value and price will not be a major
concern. Sure, you have some customers that won’t buy our products, but those who are seeking
long-term value will gladly pay the price.
Amanda:
They may be, but I am not convinced just yet.
Kelly:
I know we are running out of time before your next meeting, so could I summarize where we are
for now?
Amanda:
Sure, go ahead.
Kelly:
You like our products, but you are not sure the price point fits your customer base. You like the
durability of our products and the fact that we don’t sell throwaway items. Am I right about those
two things?
Amanda:
No arguments from me.
Kelly:
I think the only way to answer the price-point issue is for you to give our products a try. I am
sure they will sell without any problem—let the market decide.
Amanda:
Well, I am not prepared to make that decision today and I really do need to get to my next
meeting.
Kelly:
Is there anything other than the price-point issue that we need to discuss before you make a
decision?
Amanda:
Well, yes there is. I ask all of our suppliers to give me a plan for how they would help drive
consumer traffic to my stores and then, through merchandising and personal selling, help convert
that traffic to sales in the store. I have to run now, but I would be willing to meet again if you
have some concrete ideas on those topics.
Kelly:
That works for me. Would 2:00 p.m. next Thursday work for you?
Amanda:
I will put it on my calendar, see you then.
Kelly left Amanda’s office with mixed feelings. It was clear that Amanda did not think
LoExposure’s products would “sell themselves” as Kelly believed. Further Kelly was concerned
that Amanda wanted marketing ideas for driving consumer traffic to the UpMountain stores.
LoExposure did not use traditional advertising or sales promotion. Kelly thought, “well I am a
salesperson, and I could definitely train UpMountain’s salespeople on how to sell the products in
the store. Maybe I can come up with something on driving consumer traffic to the stores and
merchandising our products in the store.” Later that day, Kelly scheduled a meeting with his
sales manager, Shannon Morin, to plan his upcoming meeting with Amanda.
Questions
1. How would you evaluate Kelly’s performance in the situation? Include any positive and
negative aspects of Kelly’s performance.
2. What recommendations can you make for Kelly’s next meeting with Amanda?
Role Play
Characters: LoExposure sales representative Kelly Kinard and his sales manager, Shannon
Morin.
Scene:
Location—Shannon Morin’s office.
Action—Shannon has directed Kelly to plan for his next sales call with Amanda at UpMountain.
One step in the planning will be to role-play with Shannon playing the role of Amanda. In setting
up the role-play, Shannon told Kelly, “decide how you want to proceed. You should come in
with some ideas for marketing, merchandising, and in-store selling. But there might also be some
questions for Amanda to set the stage for the rest of the sales call. I just want to critique your
first few minutes of how you plan to approach Amanda the next time you see her.” Following the
role-play, Shannon will provide Kelly with feedback.
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