By:-

Shivam Mehrotra
ISBE/A/SS
Depends on your answer to the following:
Is it worth fighting?
Are you strong enough to fight?
How strong is your defense?
Do you have any choice but to fight?

The market challengers strategic objective is to
gain market share and to become the leader
eventually
How?
By attacking the market leader
By attacking other firms of the same size
By attacking smaller firms

Types of Attack Strategies
Frontal attack
Flank attack
Encirclement attack
Bypass attack
Guerrilla attack
Seldom work unless
The challenger has sufficient fire-power (a 3:1
advantage) and staying power, and
The challenger has clear distinctive advantage(s)
e.g. Japanese and Korean firms launched
frontal attacks in various ASPAC countries
through quality, price and low cost
Attack the enemy at its weak points or
blind spots i.e. its flanks
Ideal for challenger who does not have
sufficient resources
e.g. In the 1990s, Yaohan attacked
Mitsukoshi and Seibus flanks by opening
numerous stores in overseas markets
Attack the enemy at many fronts at the
same time
Ideal for challenger having superior
resources
e.g. Seiko attacked on fashion, features,
user preferences and anything that might
interest the consumer
By diversifying into unrelated products or
markets neglected by the leader
Could overtake the leader by using new
technologies
e.g. Pepsi use a bypass attack strategy
against Coke in China by locating its
bottling plants in the interior provinces
By launching small, intermittent hit-and-
run attacks to harass and destabilize the
leader
Usually use to precede a stronger attack
e.g. airlines use short promotions to attack
the national carriers especially when
passenger loads in certain routes are low
Thank you