Nanosolar, Inc. - Case Solution
Case Problem
Martin Roscheisen, CEO of Nanosolar must decide on the market they are going to focus, whether it’s Europe which has feed-in tariff plans with long term commitment (20 yrs) or jump-start into the nascent but high potential US market. The other problem plaguing him is the pricing and sales strategy to be employed. A low-pricing strategy is imperative for the US market as there are many players in it, as for Europe having a reliable pricing schedule- it’s all about pricing vis-a-vis its major competitor First Solar.
Sales Strategy
The major markets for Nanosolar is going to be Europe and US, and in the long-run they have to go for the emerging economies which promises immense potential. …show more content…

Utilities
As Nanosolar had entered into a contract with Beck Energy, which is the largest systems integrator in Germany. It makes more sense to focus on utilities at-least for the short-term. As the European utilities market is predominantly dominated by systems integrators, the contract with Beck energy will give them a significant boost in capturing a large share. Moreover, as First Solar is concentrating on the residential market particularly in US it provides a great opportunity for Nanosolar to capture the larger utilities market.
Commercial
This is the emerging segment, particularly in US where large commercials are going for solar power with government encouragement. There is only one other competitor in the form of Solyndra already having contracts worth $1.2 billion (only in US). Nanosolar can capitalize on this situation to rapidly expand in this segment. This segment is set-to rapidly expand and can significantly affect the top-line of any manufacturer.
Residential
This segment is practically untapped due to the complexity of the product and lack of technical expertise of the customers in dealing with it. But with rebates provided by the US state for the installation, the segment is slowly starting to expand. The short-term potential for Nanosolar is not significant.
Pricing Strategy
European Market
Nanosolar was looking at an IRR of 11%, and the products were priced a little