How to estimate no of books in canada?

Hi there,

You'll really get the best out of this exercise if you try it yourself. Why don't you post what you're thinking and we can help?

Hint: Do you think this makes more sense top-down or bottom up?

General Tips

Remember that there's rarely a "best" answer with market sizing. What's important is that you break down the problem the way it makes sense to you. Importantly, break it down so that the assumptions you make are the ones you're most comfortable in.

For example, do you know all the major brands? Great go with that. Do you understand all the segments of that country's population (either age or wealth or job breakdown)? Go with that. Do you know the total market size of a similar industry? Then break it down that way.

Hello!

I would always recommend you to give it a shot and then post it here, this would help you the most. 

Btw, I have just posted a case related to market sizing precisely, you can see the detailed tips here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/management-consulting-cases/candidate-led-usual-style/intermediate/market-sizing-new-startup-launch-baby-strollers-in-the-us-244

This is a very typical market sizing case, where the key steps are: 

• Calculate the total population who "consumes" books
• Calculate the % of population that could be interested in this product (this could be done by clustering -the classical ones are age groups, purchaching power, etc.-). I would go with age groups, since you tend to gather books during your life
•  

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Ian is right, post your solution so we can give more actionable feedback. What else to consider besides Clara's highpoints:

• Make sure to brainstorm the different approaches (top-down, bottom-up) and communicate clearly which approach you selected and why - this is where most candidates already choose the first best thing and do not get the buy-in from the interviewer
• Lay out the "mechanics" of the calculation first - the formula or algorithm. Carefully think about every component part here - what can be assumed in case the interviewer doesnt give you data etc
• Dedicate time to discussing assumptions and key data required with the interviewer
• Do the actual math - nothing fancy here - should be very quick and flawless. It is just the execution after you presented your approach in bullet 2 and collected all required data in bullet 3
• Once you have a result or a range of results, please invest time in sense checking. Internal check, external check. Take this step seriously, critique your own numbers and get a feeling if you are too low, high with your numbers
• Define next steps to make your result more precise, more resilient in terms of quality if you had more time

Best,

Denis

Hi, in addition to the solutions proposed by the other coaches in the discussion, I would like to suggest similar cases in the platform to practice with:

• https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-much-would-you-charge-to-clean-all-the-windows-in-seattle-4965
• https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/market-sizing-milk-consumption-5087
• https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/how-would-you-calculate-the-value-of-a-cow-4982
• https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/estimate-number-of-traffic-lights-in-a-london-5692

Hope it helps,
Antonello