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Copycats and ‘Me Too’ products
I wasn’t sure at first if I liked this article. I’ve always taught the line that innovation and new ideas are a key ingredient for business success, from the unique selling point to new product development driven by investment in R+D. Controversially, The Economist makes the case that imitators aren’t necessarily the bad guys.
According to the article, companies often copy and go on to succeed. The iPod was not the first digital-music player; nor was the iPhone the first smartphone or the iPad the first tablet. Apple imitated others’ products but made them far more appealing. The pharmaceutical industry is split between inventors and imitators. Some innovators, such as Pfizer, have joined the copycats, starting generic-drugs businesses themselves. The multi-billion-dollar category of supermarket own-label products (you can read about their boom here) is based on copying well-known brands, sometimes down to details of the packaging. Fast-fashion firms have built empires copying innovations from the catwalk.
History shows that imitators often end up winners. Chux, the first disposable nappies were overtaken by Pampers. McDonalds copied White Castle, inventor of the fast-food burger joint. Some studies show that imitators do at least as well and often better from any new product than innovators do. Followers have lower research-and-development costs, and less risk of failure because the product has already been market-tested.
Excessive copying, of course, could be bad for society as a whole and most people still think innovation must be rewarded with patents. No firm really wants to admit to copying, but some businesspeople are willing to talk about the limitations of innovation. A former chief executive of Dell, a computer-maker, asked “If innovation is such a competitive weapon, why doesn’t it translate into profitability?”
Thought provoking and a good evaluation point.
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External influences: the threat that is China [23 Jan 2012]
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Job Production…Unwrapped [10 Nov 2011]
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Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 2) - Innovation, Service and Smart Operations [26 Nov 2010]
Strategy - The Challenges Facing Nokia [21 Oct 2010]
Google on the changing face of advertising [8 Oct 2010]
Jemi Heselden’s obituary. Tribute to a quiet entrepreneur [7 Oct 2010]
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Some facinating data on research & development data at Apple, Google & Microsoft [25 May 2010]
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Container shipping: the greatest business innovation of the 20th Century? [11 May 2010]
Book wars! [5 May 2010]
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Strategy in a recession - global innovators keep investing [25 Feb 2010]
Strategic reaction to the UK recession - notes and observations [9 Feb 2010]
The unbreakable phone - which breaks [18 Jan 2010]
Innovation - Is Entertainment Letting Us Down? [2 Jan 2010]
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Revision Presentation - Innovation & Invention for New Businesses [1 Jan 2010]
Innovation & Protecting a Business Idea - Classroom Video [30 Oct 2009]
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The Jenson Button Business Lesson [21 Oct 2009]
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George Davies and fashion retailing Part 4 [27 Sep 2009]
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