TI cycles: new product strategy (A)

Abstract

There are a few points about the context of TI Cycles that need to be recognized explicitly. The company is operating in a mature industry where competition is very high. Product innovations are few and incremental. A long run product life cycle operates for the two core models – ‘specials’ and ‘standards.’ While the market has matured for both the models, the level of maturity is more for the ‘standards’ than for the ‘specials’ and the market for the latter is growing more rapidly. Incremental product innovations (that are usually quickly imitated) expand the growth phase for the ‘specials’ from time to time. Ability to introduce new variants of existing models and somewhat different models quickly is critical to retain market share. Given the maturity of the industry and product life cycles, manufacturing costs (prices), the ability to undertake incremental product innovations (design changes), and the speed to market are critical for maintaining competitiveness. Followers are often able to gain a lead over the first movers in specific segments. The drivers of demand essentially are the rates of growth of income and its distribution. In such a situation, the strategy of TI Cycles, especially the one related to new product development, needs to be formulated in the context of the competencies the company has acquired over the years and its access to complementary assets.