Tower Records Philippines

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This paper aims to address Tower Records Philippines' problem of being recognized as a VIDEO retail store aside from being known as a music retail store. It recommends that Tower Records open new branches carrying the brand, TOWER VIDEO. These stores would prioritize the display and merchandising of video titles more than the audio titles. Existing Tower Records stores will create separate and dedicated sections/floors for video in the hopes of Tower Records attaining market leadership in both audio and video retailing in the Philippines.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Review of Current Brand Situation

II. Assessment of Brand Equity

III. Opportunity and Issue Analysis

IV. Objectives

V. Marketing Strategy

VI. Action Programs

VII. Financial Projections

VIII. Implementation Controls

I. Review of Current Brand Situation

International Licensing History

Tower Records has long been recognized and respected throughout the world for its unique brand of retailing. Opening for business in 1960 on Broadway in Sacramento, California, the first Tower Records store was named after the landmark theater anchoring the small shopping complex there. In that original store Tower's owner and founder, Russ Solomon extolled the very retail virtues which have been essential to Tower's phenomenal growth and innovation over the past four decades.

During the 60's the record business evolved providing hundreds of millions of people with ample and affordable access to the new, popular sounds being craved. Tower Records became an irresistible place to share the experience, embracing nine till midnight opening hours, 365 days a year, espousing "supermarket" style record merchandising and depth of catalog to boot.

A vicious hangover and a greasy breakfast led to a fortuitous 1967 encounter in a vacant San Francisco supermarket, enabling Russ Solomon to fulfill his dream and open for business a year later at Columbus & Bay. The store was an instant hit and record retailing was revolutionized by the world's largest record store of the time; not only the first of its kind, but the stepping stone to Tower Records' global expansion.

Two years later Tower's landmark store on Hollywood's Sunset Strip opened. Catching the next great wave of California music Tower Sunset quickly became one of America's most important record stores. Its success led to nationwide growth over the next twelve years as Tower surfed the public's widening tastes in music, maximized the proliferation of music media and cultivated its own merchandising mastery. Tower had grown into what became known as a "category killer".

1979 witnessed Tower's entry into the Japanese market; a classic example of creative opportunism involving the procurement of an organization already trading as Tower Records. Opening in Japan without a joint venture partner or franchise agreement was indeed a very bold move, however, one that proved highly successful and gave Tower freedom of movement and a natural image in Japan, both of which have contributed significantly to Tower's continued growth and prosperity. Decades later Tower Japan, as an independent company, has over 50 Japanese Tower Records stores and http://www.tower.co.jp with hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue annually.

By the 80's international commerce had become a major source of revenue for the company and in 1986 Tower opened its doors on to Piccadilly Circus in London, with a magnificent flagship store. In the years following, more stores opened across London and in Glasgow, Scotland. Other locations ensued during wide range global expansion throughout Taiwan, Mexico, Ireland, Israel, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Tower's largest record store in the world opened in 1995 in Shibuya, Japan, with 8 stories devoted to CDs, videos, books and lifestyle items. Not only did the store shatter sales records from its opening day, but continues to do so. 1995 also heralded the opening of Tower's first WOW! multimedia store in association with the Good Guys, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The superstore concept introduced an unparalleled combination of CDs, videos, books, magazines, computer software and consumer electronics hardware, providing customers with a unique shopping experience and further enhancing Tower Records as the ultimate one stop entertainment retailer. WOW! stores have subsequently flourished in 5 west coast US markets.

Other 1995 "firsts" around the world, also included the establishment of Tower Records licensed operations in Bangkok, Thailand, Seoul, South Korea, as well as a store in Toronto, Canada and Tower Records' first Internet music store on America Online. A year later the company launched Tower.com capitalizing on the growth of the Internet and online services, to create and develop digital shopping expertise. Establishing innovative additions to the online product mix has been key to the Tower.com, one of the first to offer used CDs and gift cards both online and in the U.S. stores. Tower.com has aggressively built its commerce initiatives on the Internet employing the services of many partners.

A Joint Venture partnership led to the launch of Tower's first store in Buenos Aires, Argentina and to sustained growth in South America. Through the licensing of the Tower Records brand and retail operational expertise, global development of the Tower retail concept continued throughout the late 90's, even in territories where non-foreign owner retail laws exist. Successful launches in Colombia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Ecuador, and Israel have brought the Tower Records name and retail philosophy to eighteen countries worldwide.

In the new millennium, Tower's operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mexico were converted to licensee run operations. Additionally, Tower successfully re-negotiated the license agreement with our partners for Colombia/Ecuador and witnessed the launch of our newest licensee in the Middle East with the first store in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

As of the date on the bottom of this page, there are 216 Tower Records stores in