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Last updated 23 Nov 2007 |
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 NEWS-TRENDS-ANALYSIS
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NEWS...NEWS...NEWS...
Rising Power of the Grey Market 
Michael Maguire, Managing Partner with Quintus Management warns businesses in Ireland to wake up to the buying power of Ireland's 'grey' market - the over 50s. Marketing campaigns addressed exclusively at the youth market run the risk of alienating brands from the growing population of wealthy elder and senior citizens. Speaking at a business gathering in Dublin today, Maguire said that the growth of wealth in Ireland and in Great Britain has been a feature of our economic stability over the last two decades. Consumer demand for goods and services is the highest it has ever been and this has fuelled the success of leading Irish and international companies with a commitment to our regional market. 'However there is a fly in the ointment,' Maguire says, 'many leading brands appear to have committed themselves significantly or exclusively to the under 30s market with its historic unallocated spending power. But this is a very crowded market segment with intense competition and often reducing margins. While some companies, most notably in the cosmetics sector have sought to address the needs of older consumers, most, including the consumer telecoms and electronic sectors and much of the fashion sector, display a stunning ignorance of market potential among older consumers.' To illustrate this point Maguire quoted a comment made by the Marketing Director of a leading telecoms provider that "older people are too difficult to satisfy and they cannot relate to new technology". Maguire believes that such companies are missing a trick here. Older people are just as adept at embracing change but are certainly more discerning when it comes to service and are intensely loyal. The over 50s are also the wealthiest segment of our community and represent the biggest single growth sector in the economy. 'Businesses need to change their approach to broaden product and service appeal,' Maguire urges, 'in the words of one prominent cosmetics brand, "because we are worth it".' Please contact Quintus Management at quintus@quintusmanagement.co.uk or at +44 (0)28 9038 7472.
(22 November 2007) © Quintus Management (2007) |
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