If you have been reading the news recently, it seems that the world can certainly be described as a scary place. Today’s world is aware of the possibility of new nuclear activity by countries such as North Korea. While nuclear capabilities are not something anyone wants to consider, there are some industries that are getting a boost from it – including the bomb shelter industry. You may not have previously considered this industry as a growth market, but right now it is booming (no pun intended).
According to several U.S. companies, sales and inquiries are on the rise. One company, Atlas Shelters, expects a stellar year, selling a thousand shelters at an average price of $25,000 per shelter. In particular, there is increased demand in Japan as well as the U.S. Bomb shelter customers are often homeowners who are alarmed about the possibility of nuclear strike; they also include survivalists and “preppers” who are preparing for natural and man-made disasters.
There are a variety of different shelters, including a 500 square foot, steel-encased bunker for $120,000 that can be decked out with luxury accommodations. On the other side of the spectrum is Vivos, a company that sells shares in underground bunker complexes that include community spaces. It sells shares in its complex for $35,000 per person and claims that its 80-person complex in Indiana is completely sold out.
Do you have a plan?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the components of a situation analysis: company, general industry, trends, key competitors, technology, legal, etc.
- Who is the target market for bomb shelters?
- Show Web sites for companies producing shelters:
Atlas Shelters: http://atlassurvivalshelters.com/
Rising S Shelters: http://risingsbunkers.com/
Vivos community shelters: https://terravivos.com/
- Ask students what data they would want in order to make a marketing decisions for bomb shelter companies.
- Divide students into teams. Have each team use laptops to do general research to answer the questions above (Ex: overview of industry, size, growth, new technologies, environmental impact, laws, etc.)
- Debrief the exercise by compiling information on the white board. Does this give a good picture of the situation faced by these companies?
Source: McClatchy Washington Bureau
