Essay Sample on Neptune Seafood Company: Cutting Prices or Cutting Losses?

Introduction

The case concerns the decision or rather the idea that some members/ or leaders of Neptune as the third largest seafood company in North America to cut off the prices and or come up with a cheaper brand of the product they offer to the customers. This is an idea that has come to the mind of Sanchez and brings it forth to the other stakeholders for discussion (Harris). However, the problem is that most of the members are seeing a large downfall of the firm if the prices are cut off by 40% or even when a new brand is introduced in the market with the same quality as the first one. Therefore, there is no agreement on which path to take regarding this.

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Causes of the Problem/ Central Issue

The main cause of this problem is that there has been a serious increase in the fish caught and stored by this company within very short durations. This has been so because of the technologies they use to catch the fish with new boats that have a great mechanism of getting the highest quality from the sea (Jacquet). Also, the high-level freezing of the fish has aided in the good preservation of the fish for longer times hence the ability to accumulate more fish without damage than usual. However, the level at which the fish are being sold is still constant, and that's why Sanchez feel s that an alternative has to be sought.

Implications of the Problem

The implications of this situation in Neptune's company are that there is the imposition of a new lower price than usual for the same products in a bid to try and respond to the situation and solve the problem. However, there is a bigger problem with taking such a decision when the problem of high inventory and the increased availability of fish is just for a short period. There are problems on how lowering the prices by 40 or 50% for the same products would impact the minds of customers on the quality of the products by Neptune (Harris). Moreover, it brings about questions on the policies of the seafood distributors and supply bodies in North America and how the image of Neptune will be portrayed and this is in line with how it has for a long time been known and perceived to the extent of getting awarded as the best dealer in seafood for over ten years in a row. So many risks are attached to this situation for the company Neptune and the other peers as far as the business rivals are concerned.

Recommendation and Conclusion

Although it may be hard to decide on response to this situation, it would be recommendable for Neptune as a firm to make sure that the decisions taken will not impact negatively on the market rating. In other words, the actions taken should not affect the image of the company. Therefore, instead of having to lower the prices or come up with cheaper brands of seafood, it would be best for Neptune to link with more markets within central and South America where they can sell their excess fish at the same prices and get more profits rather than destroying the image of the firm with lower prices which would leave the customers with a number of questions. Getting to more markets would also be a way of marketing themselves and opening more opportunities.

Works Cited

Harris, Craig K. "The normative trials of Neptune's treasure." The Routledge Handbook of Food Ethics (2016): 315.

Jacquet, Jennifer L., and Daniel Pauly. "Trade secrets: renaming and mislabeling of seafood." Marine Policy 32.3 (2008): 309-318.