This is how The Economist put it in a recent article. Apple will most likely have a long and bright future, but most of its products will be more fleeting. They will come and go. Remember the Apple II computer and the original Mac? They are in the dustbin of history now or selling on eBay as fashionable home and office decorations.
But there are examples of products that have survived long after their debuts. How about Snickers, the best selling candy bar in the U.S.? Introduced in 1930, it has changed little over the past nearly 100 years. They did take out malted milk and coconut oil from the formula and substitute in skim milk and palm oil. The most visible and annoying change however is “shrinkflation.” They cut the size of the bar over the years…. But as you might imagine, the price has just kept going up!
Another unchanged product is the Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle, which The Economist notes is probably the most unchanged vehicle in continuous production today. First manufactured in England in 1932, the Bullet was transferred to Indian ownership in the 1950s. The Bullet has a simple 350cc engine. It is “tried and tested,” easy to maintain, and rugged, with a very old school “thump” to the motor. It survived the onslaught of the Japanese bikes in the 1970s and still sells well globally, starting at around $2,500 in India.
There have been changes along the way, like the addition of fuel injection and an electric starter in place of the original kick starter (traditionalists complained about this one). The bike also comes in more colors now than it did originally, but it still looks today very much like it did back in the 1930s (see pictures).
This is not to argue that long lived products are good and short lived ones bad. It is more to note that it is harder and harder to find products that have stood the test of time in their markets. We live in a world of change and technology, where marketers push us to buy the latest products with gizmos we didn’t even know we needed. Aluminum and plastic are now in, and steel and durability are out unless you can deliver the latter at a very low price point.
In our house we have a countertop machine that toasts, broils, bakes, air-fries, slow cooks, and dehydrates. All-in-one! I am sure it is chock full of semiconductor chips. If it breaks it is probably cheaper to throw it out than to try to find the rare repair person who can work on it. Sorry to be the curmudgeon here. Probably time for a Snickers.
