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Answer – Bowman’s Strategy Clock

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This is the suggested answer to the Bowman’s Strategy Clock exercise on Colorado Ricardo Mountain Bikes.

Bowman's Strategy Clock: eight competitive positions by price and perceived added value

Where Colorado Ricardo Sits Today

Colorado Ricardo charges a premium price built on its durability reputation and hand-built story – broadly a differentiation position on the clock. But three years of falling sales suggest the wider market’s perception of that added value has not kept pace with the price being charged, which risks drifting toward the “loss of market share” position: a price that no longer feels justified once cheaper, adequate alternatives are available.

Where It Should Aim to Move

Rather than cutting price to compete broadly, the better move is toward focused differentiation – keeping the premium price, but aiming it deliberately at a narrower, well-defined niche (serious off-road riders who genuinely value ruggedness and the brand’s story) where that added value is clearly recognised, rather than trying to justify the price to the wider cycling market.

Key point: position on the Strategy Clock is defined by what customers perceive they are getting for the price, not by how the business itself views its own quality – which is why a declining brand often needs to narrow its target market rather than lower its price (Bowman and Faulkner, 1996).

This mirrors the recommendation in the Generic Strategies exercise – both frameworks point toward the same focused differentiation strategy for Colorado Ricardo.