Brand extension pathway for niche-players

Sammanfattning: Successful brand extension, niche marketing and maintenance of strong customer relations have been among popular issues for academic research over the last years. But the remarkable thing is that few studies have examined brand extensions in specialized niche players. This thesis seeks to analyze highly specialized niche market companies' abilities to expand their product portfolio moving away from the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that characterizes their core product and their customers’ perception. According to the research, consideration of brand, market and the competition is crucial before brand extension decisions. The companies launch the extension products in a form of a new product, an adjacent product , a secondary or complementary product and a mass product that targets a large customer base. Based on empirics, we proposed diverse solutions for the companies in order to beat the paradox of locked in brand image and value proposition.