“Our customers need unique items”

Working from its base in Montreal, Canada, Hagen owns and operates subsidiaries in the USA, Germany, England, France and Malaysia.  Add to that joint ventures in a further five markets and strong agency relationships in many others and Hagen is truly a global supplier. As a private company, Hagen’s sales are not made public, but industry sources place Hagen in the top tier of pet accessory companies, perhaps even in the top spot.
Yet it is not completely clear how Hagen achieves this sales success. What are the products that make Hagen successful? How is it possible on the one hand to have a leading company with a sterling reputation with its business partners and on the other hand to have difficulty in coming up with a list of successful Hagen products? Indeed, it can be said that the brand recognition of Hagen is quite poor in some markets, at least compared with other companies with considerably less sales. Why is this so?
Most operations in both the marketing and production sectors are computerised at Hagen.
“You have to remember that we built a very strong name and product recognition within our home market of Canada, and that over the years we extended this same strategy and branding concept to our other major markets”, explains Rolf Hagen Jr., Hagen director and international vice president. “Our market position in Canada dictates a dilution of a clear branding concept and more of a fragmented strategy. Why? We do not want a consumer to walk into a typical Canadian pet shop and feel that they are not being offered choice! This is perhaps extreme but there is fact within it.”
Rolf Hagen Jr. explains that this has led to a large number of product names and packaging styles, to the point that Hagen’s recognition is diluted in markets where it is not the market leader. “Within some segments we can number in the dozens the product names and packaging styles we offer, versus an established European or American company which may offer a grouping or even a single brand. That has hurt trade acceptance in important markets, especially in Europe”, Hagen comments.
Hagen deploys the latest technology in production.
During a recent PET in Europe visit to Hagen facilities in Canada and Canadian retailers it was clear that Hagen enjoys a strong share of that market. In this context, the Hagen packaging concept makes complete sense. However, in European markets with established and well-known competitors, this same strategy might not be ideal. This is something that Rolf…