Porsche 2006 Annual Report Download - page 60

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The intense competition that the automobile sector has been facing for so long
has now reached the premium segment. More and more manufacturers are intro-
ducing new niche vehicles onto the market, with many of them offering generous
discounts to make their products more attractive to the customer. Porsche con-
tinues to try to avoid this discount rivalry. Unique and timeless vehicles purchased
through a professional dealer network remain the basis for Porsche’s long-term
and stable customer relations.
The company continues to pursue its goal of maintaining the balance between
supply and demand. It thus constantly analyzes market developments and, if there
are significant changes, production quotas for individual markets are swaped or
manufacturing is adjusted. This prevents warehouse stocks reaching critical levels
and therefore dispenses with the need for discounts. These measures add even
more to product value, which means that the vehicles can be sold as used cars
later and will maintain their value.
Rapid Growth on New Markets
The ongoing internationalization of sales builds an important foundation for
value-based growth. Porsche is now represented in over 100 markets, twice as
many as ten years ago. Furthermore, 90 percent of sales are now controlled by
the company directly through its subsidiaries and regional branches. In the mid-
nineties, approximately half of all sales still went through independent importers.
Porsche’s growing global presence has also significantly reduced its earlier
dependence on success on the US and German markets. Whereas in 2000,
Germany and North America still represented 70 percent of turnover, in the review
year they accounted for only 50 percent. Over the same period, the proportion
of turnover achieved by the rapidly developing regions of Russia and China, the
Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East, along with Africa, Eastern and Southern
Europe and Latin America, has increased to almost 20 percent.
Nevertheless, even on established markets, Porsche continues to take advantage
of even the smallest market potential. Constant optimization of commercial pro-
cesses and high levels of customer service guarantee that all market opportunities
are exploited. Only in this way was it possible for Porsche to continue growing in
supposedly saturated markets such as Italy and Japan during the review year,
where sales rose by up to ten percent.
Record sales in China, Russia, the Middle East and
Southern and Eastern Europe clearly demonstrate that
the ongoing internationalization of the Porsche dealer
network is reaping rewards. Porsche was also able
to smoothly continue the successes of the previous year
on its home market in Germany.
Markets