Destep - Market for Expensive Audio Equipment

External analysis (market for expensive audio equipment)

DESTEP analysis

Demographic factors

As you know the U.S. has been in a recession for the past 4 years now and is still struggling to get fully out of it as we speak. This recession in the U.S. did not only affect the U.S. but made a global impact. During this recession many companies filed for bankruptcy and therefore had to lay off their employees. In other words, there was a major increase of unemployment rate. In the U.S. the unemployment rate jumped from 4.6% in 2007 to 9.0% in 2011. Besides the unemployment rate, the salary income is also an important demographic factor. The recession causes the salary income to shrink. All the above indicates that we're going through hard times right now. This means that we, the people, are not easily going to give out money.

Economic factors

As stated above by the demographic factors, we are in a global recession. The extent of this global recession differs throughout the world. It's logical that in these times there is an increase in the interest rates. This means that loan applications are being granted less often. Another economic factor that should be noted is the tax rates. These 2 before mentioned rates has a major influence on the spending characteristics of consumers.

Social / cultural factors

Branding plays an important role in the success of a business. During hard times, branding plays even a bigger role than before. The fact that consumers are more hesitant to spend their money means that they're not only looking at the functions of products/services but it's now more important than ever to have a sense of involvement/belonging with this brand. With this being said, people are looking for the "extra value" of a brand. Their asking themselves; "If I ought to buy this brand and the functions are there, what else does this mean for me? What is the extra value?".

Technological factors

Technology plays a big role when manufacturing a product. Are there new materials that can bring the manufacturing cost down? Are there new ways of increasing the clarity of the sound that is coming out the speaker? The progress of technology is always increasing and businesses can use these technologies to improve their products & services. Wireless systems are a good example of the progress of technology. You can also think about applications, they're continuously playing a more important role in the daily lives of us. Applications can be used for numerous things such as controlling a product or online banking.

Ecological factors

Environmental issues are