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893 : STEP ONE – SEEKING AND SHAPING OPPORTUNITIES

The very act of exploring the boundary has prompted further questions,
insights and opportunities which you can return to later – after all, no
work is ever wasted in the idea development process. Within the wine
distribution example, you have now explicitly included not only the
possibility of handling wine produced outside Australia but also the
possibility of developing your own over-arching brand.

drinking to success With the helpful benefit of hindsight, this is
what BRL Hardy did, of course. Within a decade, the company had
developed a dominant global brand, with overseas sales of around $180
million, almost all of which carried the Hardy’s brand. Its 24 per cent
share of the Australian market by volume was matched by a 25 per cent
share of all Australian wine sold in Britain.

The strategy of sourcing wine from around the world created the
necessary scale to negotiate vigorously with retailers and to sustain a
credible brand, capable of escaping from commodity pricing levels. The
multiple sourcing also radically reduced the risks of vintage
uncertainties and currency fluctuations inherent in dealing with a
single country.69

Given that your market knowledge and insight will constantly evolve
throughout the problem definition step, it is worth regularly revisiting
the boundary examination exercise during this step.

boundary-hopping technique The technique of boundary-

hopping goes one stage further than stretching the boundaries. The
technique acknowledges the danger that if you work within a market,
you inherit a preconceived set of ideas of what the rules of the market
are. When all market participants share a common set of beliefs
concerning customer profile and the conventional product range,
competition tends to be focused on the basis of incremental
improvements in cost or quality or both.

if you work within a market, you inherit a
preconceived set of ideas of what the rules
of the market are