Abstract
Wheelchair products are marketed in the United States and Asia/Pacific
primarily to providers who in turn sell or rent these products directly to
consumers within the nonacute care setting. The primary customer is the home
medical equipment (HME) provider. Pull-through marketing strategy is to
medical professionals, including physical and occupational therapists.
Patients go to HME providers to obtain specific types of home medical
equipment. Consumers express a product or brand preference. Invacare is the
market leader with a domestic sales and marketing organization that consists
of a home care sales force, which markets and sells Invacare(R) branded
products to HME providers.
The service referral network includes over 600 providers who honor Invacare
product warranties regardless of where the product was purchased. This network
of servicing providers helps ensure that all consumers using Invacare products
receive quality service and support that is consistent with the Invacare brand
promise.
Distributed soft goods and disposable medical supplies are sold through the
Invacare supply group. ISG is a component of Invacare "Total One Stop
Shopping" program, through which Invacare offers HME providers of all sizes a
broad range of products and services at a lower total cost.
Hospital and homecare wheelchair technology is evolving to give people with
disabilities more mobility. Markets are poised to create the ability for
people to get more exercise and impact the healthcare delivery industry by
encouraging mobility of people who were previously bed ridden. Wheelchairs
impact care delivery, permitting moving from the bed and facilitating
exercise. Patients and family gain more control over the care delivery. Care
can be delivered in familiar settings.
Invacare is an industry leader in the market for home medical products. They
manufacture and distribute a bundled wheelchair, respiratory, and patient care
homecare product offering to home medical equipment providers. Invacare has a
very strong distribution network.
Power wheelchair markets in dollars at $756.5 million in 2006 are expected to
reach a little over $1 billion by 2013. This is because Power Wheelchairs are
in a high growth market.
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