The Institutional Affiliation
Apple iWatch Lifecycle
Behind any smallest product, there is a long life cycle. It starts with the introduction when the product is brought to the market. In turn, the introduction stage has five consistent phases: shaping the idea, designing the product, preparing for the release, testing and entering the market.
In the introduction stage of the life cycle, consumers meet the product, they see a little or no advertising and don’t buy a lot. Instead, they try, compare, and analyze the newly introduced commodity. The second phase called the growth, is characterized by rise of sales and competition growth. In this stage, the product becomes recognizable and popular. It leads to lower production costs, higher profits, and regular clients’ group emergence. During the next, or the maturity phrase, is the longest one. High and stable sales do not grow anymore. Products require more intense advertising and efforts in order to maintain competitiveness. The last phrase is called decline. During the stage the sales fall, investments are low, and the production often stops.
Apple iWatch, for example, is currently in its growth stage. It is a relatively new product which was launched a year ago. The sales and popularity of the product have been growing since then. Some experts also call the phase “the big bang” since the number of customers raised rapidly. The introduction quickly changed to growth due to the fact that the company studies the market, competitors, and their experience very precisely. In particular, they analyzed an attempt of Microsoft to launch “a smart watch”. Unfortunately, the launch was not a big-time but Apple did their best to avoid common mistakes and make sure that their attempt is successful. The iWatch won the customers' adherence. They were and still are buying it despite the price and other factors that influence sales in other phases.
Taking into consideration the fact that the product will shortly enter the maturity stage of its lifecycle, the company should consider upgrading the iWatch to a new version or model so that by the time when the current one moves to further stages, it will not loss-making but gets a new life.
