Niche Markets

A market niche is a special segment or segments of the market that one company with limitations can focus on despite being overlooked by its competitors.

Four Products:

Mini Cooper: Mini has maintained its product image of a small European car with minimal bells and whistles for many years. Mini users including myself are concerned with fuel economy, greater handling and German engineering over other perks such as comfort, leg room and cargo space. Mini Coopers belong in a niche market as other car makers choose not to enter this smaller, stylish car market segment until recently when it can no longer be ignored due to rise in gas prices.

Red Bull: Energy drinks are usually not widely accepted as the healthiest fluids to consume. Sugar and caffeine contents in the product keep away health conscious consumers from drinking a can of Red Bull. Red Bull, however, remains in its market niche as despite its contents and its price tag, the small market segment made up of college students and young professionals like myself still actively consume its product whether to stay up late at night or for its taste with vodka.

Vacheron Constantin: Tourbillon watch makers became near extinct when cheap quartz crystal became mainstream ingredients for wrist watches. Today, Vacheron Constantin remains one of the crafters of tourbillon watches for the niche market with few consumers around the world that only appreciate an older and complicated watch invention. A grand complication Constantin watch has remained in my family for over 60 years and it continues to be fashionable to this day due to the niche market that these exotic watch makers continue to cater to.

Vacuum Tube Amplifier: Vacuum tubes or electron tubes have been used in television and radio technology extensively in the past. Vacuum tube amplifiers have been completely replaced by digital solid state amplifiers over the recent years. Today, the niche market for tube amplifiers consists only of audiophiles who are willing to pay up to 10 times more the market price of a solid state amplifier. Tube amps definitely belong in a very small and exclusive niche market since an average consumer in the market for audio equipment would purchase only conventional digital amplifiers.

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