Industry Definition. We primarily operate in the U.S. residential real estate industry, which is an approximately $1.4 trillion industry based on 2013 transaction volume (i.e. average homesale price times number of new and existing homesale transactions), as compared to $2.1 trillion in 2006, and derive the substantial majority of our revenues from serving the needs of buyers and sellers of existing homes rather than those of new homes. Residential real estate brokerage companies typically realize revenues in the form of a commission that is based on a percentage of the price of each home sold and/or a flat fee. As a result, the real estate industry generally benefits from rising home prices and increasing homesale transactions (and conversely is adversely impacted by falling prices and lower homesale transactions). We believe that existing home transactions and the services associated with these transactio ns, such as mortgage origination, title services and relocation services, represent the most attractive segment of the residential real estate industry for the following reasons: • the existing homesales segment represents a significantly larger addressable market than new homesales. Of the approximately 5.5 million homesales in the U.S. in 2013, NAR estimates that approximately 5.1 million were existing homesales, representing approximately 92% of the overall sales as measured in units; • existing homesales afford us the opportunity to represent either the buyer or the seller and in some cases both the buyer and the seller; and • we are able to generate revenues from ancillary services provided to our customers. We also believe that the traditional broker-assisted business model compares favorably to alternative channels of the residential brokerage industry, such as discount brokers and "for sale by owner" for the following reasons: • a real estate transaction has certain characteristics that we believe are best suited for full-service brokerages, such as: (i) the average homesale transaction size is very high and generally is the largest transaction one does in a lifetime; (ii) homesale transactions occur infrequently; (iii) there is a high variance in pri ce, depending on neighborhood, floor plan, architecture, fixtures, and outdoor space; (iv) there is a compelling need for personal service as home preferences are unique to each buyer; (v) a high level of support is required given the complexity associated with the process: and (vi) there is a need for specific marketi...
Industry Definition. Palmtop Innovations' core product will be the PalmPal inventory management system. It will target this system to the more than 20,000 U.S. automobile dealers. Currently, there are many companies that offer hardware and software packages to automobile dealers, but none that compare to the PalmPal. In order to create the most complete product package possible, the PalmPal system will include PalmPilot III computers, the PalmPal software, and training information. Currently, no other software company has an inventory management software system available for sale.
Industry Definition. Xxxxxxx Xxxxx provides integrated public relations and marketing services to large hospitals, clinics, and health maintenance organizations. This industry is undergoing monumental shifts as changes in payer policies, declining bed utilization rates, and increasingly expensive new medical technology combine to make marketing much more important than it has been previously.
Industry Definition. Still water is the fastest growing segment of the alternative beverage industry. Sales for 1996, the most recent year available, were up 25 percent, almost double the industry average of 13 percent. Other alternative beverage segments include juices, teas, sport drinks, sparkling waters, and natural sodas. Still water sales totaled 731 million cases, making the category by far the dominant in alternative beverages, whose total sales neared 1.9 billion cases. Still water's share of the alternative beverage market exceeded 39 percent, up 3.7 percent from the previous year, when 585 million cases of still waters were sold. Other strong categories included sport drinks and teas.
Industry Definition. IMT's core products will be electronic measuring devices. Although the industry for such instruments is diverse and filled with competitors, the company will not compete in this arena. The true industry that is relevant to IMT is the retail consumer apparel industry. This industry encompasses clothing stores (North American Industry Classification System [NAICS] #4481), and department stores (NAICS #452110). There are other classifications for apparel outlets, e.g., on the Internet, but these are not viable markets for IMT’s products which requires customer contact. Technological advances are creating the opportunity for clothing manufacturers to manufacture and provide apparel in custom sizes on a short-notice basis. Clothing retailers and department stores are taking advantage of this to sell higher-profit, custom-fitted clothing to customers. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, sales of custom-fit clothing have increased from 0.05 percent of the U.S. clothing market to 0.10 percent in the last two years -- an increase of 200 percent. Xxxxxxx & Co., a market research firm specializing in retail clothing stores, projects that U.S. custom-fit apparel sales will increase an average of 20 percent each year over the next five years. With such projected growth, retailers in the industry stand to benefit from utilizing IMT's products.
Industry Definition. Cable modems connect TVs to the cable TV coaxial wiring and may also attach a personal computer via a standard Ethernet connection to the cable infrastructure. Internet appliances and similar devices, a few of which are already on the market, may provide access to many users in the near future. Cable modems are sold by a number of vendors, including Bay Networks, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, and several smaller manufacturers. Snap-Quick will provide cable modem companies, cable installers, and cable TV and data service access providers with Snap-Quick Connectors to use in their businesses.
Industry Definition. 5.2 PRIMARY COMPETITORS ........................................................................................................................
