Studies
HKU716
KEVIN ZHOU
HUELLA ONLINE TRAVEL: GAINING MARKET
INSIGHT INTO HONG KONG CONSUMERS
In April 2007, Huella Online Travel Ltd,1 a Malaysian-based online travel portal targeting
Asia, including Greater China, announced its results for the financial year 2006. Since the launch of the company’s Hong Kong site in 2000, its market share for the city had been hovering just under 5%. Indeed, Huella’s performance in Hong Kong had been lower than in its other markets. Previous market research commissioned by the company had found that low consumer awareness of the Huella brand and the general risk-averseness among Hong Kong people towards online travel purchases appeared to be the key factors behind this situation.
Jenny Leung, marketing and market research manager of Huella Hong Kong, was surprised that the online travel industry had not picked up in Hong Kong despite the city’s high internet usage penetration rate and the techno-savvy nature of its population, especially among young people. In order to confirm earlier findings, Leung decided to hire MarketSense, a boutique market research firm headquartered in Australia, to conduct a study on its Hong Kong market.
Through this study, she hoped that she would be able to devise a viable marketing strategy.
What information would Huella need? How could MarketSense help Huella achieve its goals?
1
Although this case is based on real events, certain details, including company names, ownership structure, locations and company-related financial and market figures, have been changed to ensure anonymity.
Isabella Chan prepared this case under the supervision of Dr Kevin Zhou for class discussion. This case is not intended to show effective or ineffective handling of decisions or business processes.
© 2008 by The Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
KEVIN ZHOU
HUELLA ONLINE TRAVEL: GAINING MARKET
INSIGHT INTO HONG KONG CONSUMERS
In April 2007, Huella Online Travel Ltd,1 a Malaysian-based online travel portal targeting
Asia, including Greater China, announced its results for the financial year 2006. Since the launch of the company’s Hong Kong site in 2000, its market share for the city had been hovering just under 5%. Indeed, Huella’s performance in Hong Kong had been lower than in its other markets. Previous market research commissioned by the company had found that low consumer awareness of the Huella brand and the general risk-averseness among Hong Kong people towards online travel purchases appeared to be the key factors behind this situation.
Jenny Leung, marketing and market research manager of Huella Hong Kong, was surprised that the online travel industry had not picked up in Hong Kong despite the city’s high internet usage penetration rate and the techno-savvy nature of its population, especially among young people. In order to confirm earlier findings, Leung decided to hire MarketSense, a boutique market research firm headquartered in Australia, to conduct a study on its Hong Kong market.
Through this study, she hoped that she would be able to devise a viable marketing strategy.
What information would Huella need? How could MarketSense help Huella achieve its goals?
1
Although this case is based on real events, certain details, including company names, ownership structure, locations and company-related financial and market figures, have been changed to ensure anonymity.
Isabella Chan prepared this case under the supervision of Dr Kevin Zhou for class discussion. This case is not intended to show effective or ineffective handling of decisions or business processes.
© 2008 by The Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying,