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Brand Failures

Brand Failures

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Extension failures 97<br />

every brand – Virgin is an obvious exception (and one Ries rarely discusses)<br />

– it certainly holds true in this instance.<br />

Furthermore, Bic underwear required a completely new distribution<br />

channel and required different production technology. The lighters, razors<br />

and pens were all made from injection-moulded plastic, and could therefore<br />

share resources. Production and distribution problems, combined with the<br />

fact that the product’s function was totally unlike that of the previous<br />

products, meant that Bic underwear met an early, and not much-mourned<br />

death.<br />

Lessons from Bic underwear<br />

Exploit existing resources. The other Bic brand extensions made sense<br />

because the company could exploit its existing sales force, distribution<br />

channels and production technology. None of which came in handy for<br />

the range of underwear.<br />

Be flexible. The brand association for Bic in the mind of the consumer<br />

simply wasn’t flexible enough for a move into an unrelated product<br />

category.

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