A start-up home furnishing company wishes to examine the home furnishing industry to determine where they should invest their resources for the biggest payoff. Their goal is to make decisions about which markets to inject themselves into, that will give them the best chance of growth. They wish to see not only the current major players’ position in the market, but also the segmentation of the market types themselves. They have to examine the many markets including furniture, giftware, lawn and garden equipment, cookware, dinnerware/china/glassware, and seasonal accessories.
They create a marimekko chart, or market map.
What can they learn? First, the largest segments are Furniture, Giftware, and Lawn/Garden. They represent over half the market. The Furniture and Giftware segments are concentrated and dominated primarily by Company A and Company B. Their chance of successfully entering these markets is relatively small. On the other hand, they might have a better chance in the Lawn/Garden market, as that market is more fragmented.
In this case, the marimekko chart provides clear information to this start-up company about what segments are the most attractive.