Product Groups

Most businesses sell more that one product. Often they will produce several similar products that appeal to different customers. A collection of such products is known as a "product group" or "product range".

Good examples of product groups include:

• Apple's range of laptops (MacBook), desktops (iMac), tablets (iPad), smartphones (iPhone) and wearables (iWatch)
• Sony's range of videocameras and televisions
• Samsung's broad range of electronic consumer goods (televisions, tablets, smartphones, fridges etc)

There are several advantages to having a product range rather than just one product:

Spread the risk – a decline in one product may be offset by sales of other products

Selling a single product may not generate enough returns for the business (e.g. the market segment may be too small to earn a living)

A range can be sold to different segments of the market e.g. family holidays and activity holidays

However a greater range of products can mean that the marketing resources (e.g. personnel and cash) are spread more thinly. Recently Unilever, who make over two hundred well known brands such as Dove and Flora margarine, decided sell some of their product names to concentrate their investment on fewer products and brands..