Barco Projection System Case Analysis: Global Niche MarketingIntroductionBarco NV was established in 1934 as a producer of broadcast receivers. In the late 1970s, facing economic recession due to the oil supply shock, the company changed its market strategy from the consumer market to the industrial niche projector market. This decision was based on the firm and clear vision that Barco knew which market it had to serve. Pursuing high-end in the high-end niche market, Barco focused on R&D to maintain premium quality and launched a series of international expansion activities. The strategy of the most advanced player in the niche market has resulted in years of its market. leadership in the graphics projector sector of the high-end industrial market. Barco Projection System (BPS) has virtually enjoyed the fruits of its commitment to technologically superior projectors, however, the projector market has encountered an unexpected (in light of BPS) new product: the 1270 "superdata" projector (1270) from Sony. Introduced at the Siggraph show in Q3 1989, the 1270 demonstrated its superiority in brightness, image quality and resolution compared to BPS's countertop product. Since BPS could not expect a competing product like the 1270, the company and distributor were shocked. and stirred. Given Barco's size in the market, even though BPS held the leading position in the industry, it could not defend itself against the attack of a giant like Sony. At this point, to maintain its position and market share, BPS should take immediate action against Sony's market capture move with the high quality but low price 1270 projector. At that time, Barco executives were essentially considering two options: pricing option and product development option, but both options had some flaws. The strange relationship with GiantBPS was known to distributors and end users for its high quality. With its strategy to rank among the top three in the designated market segment – ​​high-end projectors, BPS achieved the top spot. 1 in graphics projector and managed to be top 3 in the data and video projector sectors. BPS had intentionally raised the bar by making its product "unnecessarily complex" to prevent the entry of other competitors. Resellers and end users complained about this, but BPS maintained this strategy because it was seen as a necessary means of differentiation between its competitors: Sony, Electrohome and NEC. Sony was the largest competitor and had a unique relationship with Barco. Competing in the industrial projector market with Barco, it supplied Barco with the main component of the projector: the tubes..