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Management article
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Reference no. 94607
Published by: Harvard Business Publishing
Published in: "Harvard Business Review", 1994

Abstract

In the last ten years, products have proliferated in every category of consumer goods and services, and the deluge shows few signs of letting up. Most companies are pursuing product expansion strategies--in particular, line extensions--full steam ahead. But as John Quelch and David Kenny argue in "Extend Profits, Not Product Lines" (September-October 1994), evidence indicates that such aggressive tactics can be hazardous. Quelch and Kenny offer several guidelines for avoiding the pitfalls of wanton line extensions and sharpening product line strategies: improve cost accounting, allocate resources to popular products, research consumer behavior, coordinate marketing efforts, work with channel partners, and foster a climate in which product-line deletions are encouraged. In this issue''s Perspectives section, nine experts offer their views on product- line management and the logic of line extensions.

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Abstract

In the last ten years, products have proliferated in every category of consumer goods and services, and the deluge shows few signs of letting up. Most companies are pursuing product expansion strategies--in particular, line extensions--full steam ahead. But as John Quelch and David Kenny argue in "Extend Profits, Not Product Lines" (September-October 1994), evidence indicates that such aggressive tactics can be hazardous. Quelch and Kenny offer several guidelines for avoiding the pitfalls of wanton line extensions and sharpening product line strategies: improve cost accounting, allocate resources to popular products, research consumer behavior, coordinate marketing efforts, work with channel partners, and foster a climate in which product-line deletions are encouraged. In this issue''s Perspectives section, nine experts offer their views on product- line management and the logic of line extensions.

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