New Megs Products

[paco]

I'm all for Meguiar's making a profit and a hefty one at that . I'm all for R&D and coming out with new and great innovations.

There is a point of critical mass and at which point should a product be replaced rather than added to a product to line that basically does the same thing. There has to be a point of diminishing returns and the infrastructure to support all of the products must be substantial.

The lean and mean strategy obviously has it's issue's but as does the big bulky and cumbersome approach as well.

The other thing that suprises me is that a company of that size and revenue contiually maintains such a weak website. It's been up for years without any significant changes. Most of their "buttons", colour scheme and layout is on the unprofessional side and it's difficult to navigate.

Small things such as that lead me to believe they are getting very complacent. Look at their Rx's. Most of the time, it doesn't recommend recent products. The concept was a great one but never really used to it's full potential.

For me:

1. I'm glad to see them get into the accessories market more.
2. I'm glad to see them introduce a glass cleaner.
3. Why so many waxes? Why so many swirl removers? Why so many product lines?

I can understand appealing to 2 customer bases, the average joe and professional level customers.

The thing is, why have a pro and bodyshop line? Are they not addressing the same customer base since those products are typically only found at paint supply type stores?

Why have NXT and Gold Class?

Why have the Blue and Pink consumer lines?

It's that 2x everything at each target audience that is a bit annoying and confusing. i.e. SFP vs. No. 9 - Is there really a need to keep both of them going?

..... Why the hell do I really care??? Just goes to show you how important brand loyality is.

Maybe it's because the 2 vehicles I bought this year are imports (Acura / Mazda)

Maybe it's because I feel myself inclined to purchase waxes and polishes from Europe (1Z, Klasse etc.)

Maybe it's because I am buying car Oil from Germany (Castrol 0W30 made in Germany)...

I find myself more and more each day not supporting our local economy because we might be getting complacent in NA and the countries across the ocean are upping the stakes.

Hopefully Sal will keep making a awesome sealant so at least I can keep supporting a New Yorker.

Paco

[Corey Bit Spank]

Originally posted by ALAN81
Megs is not at different price points.If the cheapest wax they sell is i.e $6 and the most expensive wax the sell is NXT @$14 they are still in the same price point.What they do and once again I am not picking on them is they SATURATE the shelves with all there products because there is no body else.Who can you buy from if your a off the street detailer Mothers Black Magic Turtle Wax that is all I see on the shelves except Armor all and Baja. just proving my point.we learned this in school years ago THE MONEY IS THERE FOR THE TAKING.

$8 difference to the average person going into a store and buying car wax is a lot of money. I can't imagine the person that shops the regular red bottle and turtle wax hard shell and mother's cleaner wax cross shops around with NXT, TW Platinum, Nano, reflections, ect.

Also, I'm sure Meguiars has a good marketting division and knows what they are doing despite people here disagreeing.

[jfelbab]

I may be wrong but I think that a lot of products for a lot of companies will be forced by EPA regulations to be reformulated or eliminated. In this regard, I'd not be surprised to see several Megs older products go bye-bye.

One example that comes to mind is #16. I believe this is already discontinued in Canada. If #16 goes, I'll be saddened but I have a couple unopened tins on the shelf so that should last a couple years.

The EPA will force new products from most of our favorite companies. Some we will like, some we will not. Personally, I prefer lots of choices over few.

Meguiars has just announced some new consumer products. That's good in that it gives us more choices. They haven't yet announced anything that is going away but you know that has to happen.

[Bill D]

Soime stuff in the old Detailer line is gone and replaced, at least partly due to the VOC rules and maybe slow sales as well

[G35stilez]

Little chime in...


It is uncontested, in my opinion, that Meguiar's makes great products. They are probably in the top 3 of Auto Car Care Products (probably #1, but have no definitive proof). Hell, when I went to visit my girlfriend's relatives in Ohio, I ended up detailing for them. Everything I bought from Wal-Mart was all Meguiars. I know it's a name I can trust.

Anyways, I was a little blown away by the plethora of products being introduced for 2005. I really have no doubt that they will be great products, especially for consumers. They will have a more wide-array of products to make their car shine even better. Their bright and shiny NXT wrappings will definately draw a lot of younger age folks looking for the maximum bling whereas the Gold Class will draw in the 'more original' folks who want the lower key classy good looks. All in all, I like the new marketing scheme for the consumer lines.

However, the pro line's bother me. Pros are pros...we are not looking for glitzy bottles with shiny cars on them. We are looking for bulk products that produce amazing results. If I were Meguiars, I'd either be converting the Detailer Line to numbers or the Pro Line to just names. To me it's rather confusing and unneeded. I'm sure Meguiar's has thought of this though .

[NavindraLR]

well i could care less about the names (atleast @ the moment.. until i start getting confused) but im glad their coming out with new products just because it gives me something else to try... especially lookin forward for the nxt glass cleaner... still need a high quality glass cleaner which is TRULY STREAK FREE, even tho others claim to be.

[BW]

Originally posted by rjstaaf
How can Meguiars "saturate" the shelves. Meguiars doesn't own the shelf space, they have to compete for it. If the shelves are saturated with Meguirs products it is because the buyers for those store chains know it will sell, plain and simple.

Manufacturers pay extra for end spaces. Why do only some of the products have flashy tags sticking out from the shelves?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by NavindraLR
well i could care less about the names (at least @ the moment.. until i start getting confused) but I'm glad their coming out with new products just because it gives me something else to try... especially looking forward for the NXT glass cleaner... still need a high quality glass cleaner which is TRULY STREAK FREE, even tho others claim to be.

I've been told that Barry and R&D have so much faith in this product that it has a very strong/prominent guarantee.

The back label also tries to educate people that the effectiveness of a glass cleaner is greatly determined by application material and has chart that indicates best results come from using microfiber polishing cloths. (This by the way is true of most glass cleaners, Meguiar's is just trying to help educate those that don't know about microfibers).

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by paco
There is a point of critical mass and at which point should a product be replaced rather than added to a product to line that basically does the same thing. There has to be a point of diminishing returns and the infrastructure to support all of the products must be substantial.

The other thing that suprises me is that a company of that size and revenue contiually maintains such a weak website. It's been up for years without any significant changes. Most of their "buttons", colour scheme and layout is on the unprofessional side and it's difficult to navigate.

Small things such as that lead me to believe they are getting very complacent. Look at their Rx's. Most of the time, it doesn't recommend recent products. The concept was a great one but never really used to it's full potential.

Paco

We're listening, and look for many changes in the very near future...



Mike

[SilverLexus]

"The back label also tries to educate people that the effectiveness of a glass cleaner is greatly determined by application material and has chart that indicates best results come from using microfiber polishing cloths. "

Mike, this is great. I learned long ago not to use paper towels if you want to eliminate streaks. I'm also glad to see Megs offering a wide selection of MF. I'm hoping Auto Color will carry all these products in their Georgia stores.

[ALAN81]

AURORA 40........The point that I am bring out is that on the shelves is #26 GC Megs Cleaner Wax ECT.MEGS loads the sheves with all different products all at one price point.No I dont think they should stay at the same price point.In business companies give concessions and works with Target WM K-Mart for mark down money.This is behined the closed doors where you will never know about. A bigger mark down and you get a little more shelve space and so on and soforth.Its the old COKE and PEPSI story.In most stores around ,there are so many MEGs products on the shelf if your not a Autopian you sit there and scratch your head and ask a salesmam who doesn't know JACK

[paco]

Also, the majority of customers do not think of calling Meguiars and asking them for advice on what product to buy. So, even if Meguiar's has a good call center (which I have not personally been pleased with), the majority of customers deciding between Meguiars/E1/Simoniz/NuFinish/TurtleWax already have a daunting array. Couple that with Meguiars offering the same product in multi formats and it makes your head spin.

I wish I had a dollar for every person I've helped out at store with what product to use. I've recommend NuFinish for people who only insist on waxing once or twice per year if No. 20 isn't available as they usually want an all-in-one and there finish is probably poor to begin with.