Product Life Cycle. Phases of the Product's Life

Phase I - launch; it's characterised by high investment sales and low profits.

Phase 2 - sales rise; it's characterised by high profitability.

Phase 3 - sales rise peak; it's characterised by the fact that profits start to fall. Phase 4 - market saturated; it's characterised by sales and profits fall.

Topic: Product development and planning text

The number of new products coming into the market of western countries every year is overwhelming. The major part of these products is not new, but adaptations. It means that these products are not new, they are existing items to which a modification has been made. Only few products are really original or innovations. For instance a clock-television is an adaptation, but TV-set itself, the refrigerator – each was an innovation. A great number of innovations and adaptations are designed, produced and marketed by small businesses. Very often a new product is formed on the basis of the new business. Sometimes there is a patent to make the business more successful. But it happens very often that market research hasn't been done carefully.

Even in case larger scale producers do more research and testing there is little hope for success. A promising new product may be also robbed of success by unreasonable prices, inadequate promotion and poor selling methods. Generally less than one fifth of all new products turns out to be profitable.

Active vocabulary

product development	- разработка (видов) продукции
an adaptation	- что-либо переделанное, приспособленное
a modification	- модификация, видоизменение
an innovation a patent	- нововведение, новшество - патент
large scale producer	- крупный производитель
promising product	- перспективный продукт
unreasonable price	- неразумная цена
inadequate	- недостаточный, не соответствующий требованиям

Comprehension questions

1. How can you explain the term adaptation?

2. What is an innovation?

3. Give your own examples of innovations and adaptations?

1. Why are many innovations and adaptations manufactured and marketed by small businesses?

4. Why is it so important to obtain a patent?

5. Why does the failure of a new product take place?

Topic: The Product

Exercises

I. Sometimes products don't sell well in a new market. Suggest what went wrong in these cases.

1. Western companies had problems selling refrigerators in Japan until they changed the design to make them quieter.

2. In Saudi Arabia, newspaper adverts for an airline showed an attractive hostess serving champagne to happy passengers. A lot of passengers cancelled their flight reservations.

3. A soap powder advertisement had a picture of dirty clothes on the left, a box of soap in the middle and clean clothes on the right. The soap didn't sell well in the Middle East.

4. A company had problems when it tried to introduce instant coffee to the French market.

5. Several European and American firms couldn't sell their products in Dubai when they ran their advertising campaign in Arabic.

6. An airline company called itself Emu, after the Australian bird. But Australians didn't want to use the airline.

7. A TV commercial for a cleaning product showed a little girl cleaning up the mess her brother made. The commercial caused problems in Canada.

8. A toothpaste manufacturer couldn't sell his product in parts in South East Asia.

9. An American golf ball manufacturer launched his products in Japan packed in boxes of four. It had to change the pack size.

10. A ladies' electric shaver sold well throughout Europe, but not in Italy.