Climb Beyond. Market Research for the Introduction of a New Product into the Indoor Climbing Sport

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Sport - Sport Economics, Sport Management, grade: 2, Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Executive Academy), course: Entrepreneurship & Innovation, language: English, abstract: For about two decades indoor climbing became a trend in adrenalin sports. In many Western countries climbing halls of huge size have been build. Most urbanized citizens at least tried it once. But even though the climbing community is huge, only a few starters remain active or advance in skills and techniques. The business background of this research is a new product that is able to track the movement of any professional climber and re-project the shape of the body to help an inexperienced climber to make his next best move while being stuck on the wall. This will help less skilled users to advance and enjoy climbing even more. The applications for this product are numerous but the market is highly uncertain. Therefore this study tries to reveal why most users do not advance and it identities common problems and barriers that most climbers have to face. How do they get over them or why do they stumble. After having a deeper insight into the indoor climbing market, the possible market size and user acceptance for the new product can be estimated more accurately. This thesis is seen as an opportunity assessment reducing uncertainty before bringing the product into the market.