The demand for solar photovoltaic energy has been growing immensely in recent years. In the year 2017 alone, the global statistics reveal that the worldwide demand for solar PV was at 85 gigawatts (Statista.com, 2018). By 2015, the solar energy industry recorded market revenue of $86 billion, and by 2022 it is expected to be at $422 billion (Statista.com, 2018). The primary factors supporting the growth of the solar energy industry are an increase in environmental pollution, decrease in water footprint, government incentives.
SunPower ®
SunPower ® is among the world’s leading innovative and sustainable energy corporations with its headquarters in Silicon Valley, California in the United States. SunPower ® attends to the diverse demands of consumers regarding solar solutions and services. The company has been serving residential consumers, corporates, schools, government institutions, and utilities across the world since 1985 (Energysage.com, 2018). The organization currently has its branches in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. SunPower ® holds over 750 patents for solar technology around the world.
Product Description
The SunPower X-series solar panel is among the most used solar panels by homeowners and businesses around the world hence making it the most popular option in all solar panel brands. The main reason for this is that its efficiency rating ranges between 20.3% - 22.2% (Matasci, 2017). The product performs well in high-heat conditions (Matasci, 2017). The product also has 25 years warranty and generates 92% of its original capacity (Matasci, 2017).
Outline Market Analysis
The solar market in the UK has been proliferating since 2010 and statistics show that the UK is among the top ten global markets for solar energy (Watson, 2014). Currently, solar energy powers approximately 6.7million homes in the UK and government incentives reveal that by 2020 solar energy should power about 12.1 million households (Watson, 2014). The main reason for this is that the UK government is establishing various initiatives that would help with the problem of environmental pollution. The government aims to produce 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 (Watson, 2014).
Some of the strategies that the government employs include Renewable Energy Strategy, the Feed in Tariff (FIT), Microgeneration strategy, Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), and Renewable Obligation Scheme (RO) (Marketresearch.com, 2017). Solar energy industry gets its support from FIT, RHI, and RO schemes. However, the growing trend was recently affected by lower FIT rates causing a decline in the demand for solar power (Marketresearch.com, 2017). Nonetheless, the motivating factors remain stable because of the government’s desire to shift to renewable sources of energy.
Part Two
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
Geographically the UK represents one of the fastest growing markets for solar panels, and this is because of the demand for cheaper renewable energy. The demand for solar energy has increased significantly since 2010. The primary users of solar power in the UK are mainly households and businesses and in 2017 709,000 installations were made in the region (Greenmatch.co.uk, 2018). The primary consumers of solar energy are families, especially individuals with farms but the behaviour is becoming common in urban areas, especially among companies (Bhandari and Stadler, 2009). The main reasons why these segments are embracing solar energy are environmental consciousness, and it is cheaply affordable compared to the alternatives (Greenmatch.co.uk, 2018). The rising cost of fuel is driving utility bills and guild regarding emissions and global warming are the key factors that have prompted the targeted consumers to embrace renewable sources of energy (Greenmatch.co.uk, 2018). The success is owed to the government’s efforts and strategies of promoting conscious environmental awareness among the big spenders of energy.
Key Competitors
There usually are three types of solar panels, and these are polysilicon, monosilicon, and mono-PERC. The mono-PERC is commonly used in heavy industries while many businesses and households prefer polysilicon because of efficiency and affordability (Nair and Groom, 2017). Generally, SunPower ranks as the fourth in the producers of solar panels globally, but its products have been slightly more efficient than the competitors (Nair and Groom, 2017). The SunPower’s X-series module is the highest wattage, and this is because it is bigger than the competitors (Nair and Groom, 2017). However, JinkoSolar is the leading on the high-efficiency side.
Recommended Marketing Mix
a) Product
The product delivers approximately 44% more power per panel, and this means that the consumers can create more energy using less space and with only fewer panels (Gul, Kotak and Muneer, 2016). This allows the consumers to place panels on the sunniest part of the roof for efficiency. The panels also produce 75% more energy per square foot better than conventional panels, and the product comes with a warranty of 25 years.
b) Price
The product is of high quality compared to most of the competitors and with this comes the high cost of sales. However, the price per watt is only slightly higher than the competitors’. The average market price for solar panels is approximately $3.5 per watt and the prices of the SunPower X-series panel range between $3.65/Watt and $4.55/Watt. Though the product is pricier than conventional panels, the cost of purchase is not astronomical.
c) Promotion
The best way that the company promotes the product’s value for money is by the idea of giving the consumers a 25-year warranty for the products. This means that if the purchased solar panels become defective and fail to be efficient within that time, then the company will give the consumers a new panel hence promoting efficiency and savings. The product is mainly promoted through the company’s website to allow easy interaction with the customer care.
d) Place
SunPower has a list of certified dealers around the world and who are well established in the UK (SunPower.com 2018). These dealers who are highly trained will help in promoting the new products to both first time consumers and already existing customers. The company will have to establish a stronger supplier network through installers, developers, and suppliers.
References
Bhandari, R., and Stadler, I., 2009. Grid parity analysis of solar photovoltaic systems in Germany using experience curves. Solar Energy, 83(9), pp. 1634-1644.
Energysage.com., 2018. Sunpower corporation - profile " reviews 2018. [Online] Available at: https://www.energysage.com/supplier/108/sunpower-corporation/
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Greenmatch.co.uk., 2018. Solar panels in the UK - how popular are they? [Online] Available at: https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2015/08/how-popular-are-solar-panels-in-the-uk
[Accessed Nov. 29, 2018].
Gul, M., Kotak, Y., and Muneer, T., 2016. Review on recent trend of solar photovoltaic technology. Energy Exploration " Exploitation, 34(4), pp. 485-526.
Marketresearch.com., 2017. Europe solar power market research reports " analysis. [Online] Available at: https://www.marketresearch.com/seek/Solar-Power-Europe/387/1275/1.html
[Accessed Nov. 29, 2018].
Matasci, S., 2017. The top SunPower solar panels for sale in 2018. [Online]. Available at: https://news.energysage.com/top-sunpower-solar-panels-sale-2017
[Accessed Nov. 29, 2018].
Nair, A. S., and Groom, N., 2017. SunPower sees intense competition in solar this year. [Online] Available at: https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-sunpower-results/sunpower-sees-intense-competition-in-solar-this-year-idUKKBN15U2PM
[Accessed Nov. 29, 2018].
Statista.com., 2018. Forecast of solar PV energy demand globally 2022. [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/500250/solar-photovoltaic-demand-outlook-worldwide
[Accessed Nov. 29, 2018].
SunPower.com., 2018. SunPower solar dealers and installers. [Online] Available at: https://us.sunpower.com/dealers-installers
[Accessed Nov. 29, 2018].
Watson, J., 2014. Solar powered growth in the UK. [Online] Available at: https://www.solar-trade.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CEBR-STA-report-Sep-2014-1.pdf
[Accessed Nov. 29, 2018].
