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why do companies discontinue products


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Old 12-03-2015, 22:44
ivyjane
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I used to buy oxo chilli stock cubes,alas no more, now searching swarthz Bacon & mushroom tagliatelle, cycled across town to Morrison where I used to buy,checked asda website, no avail, also tesco & Sainsburys
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Old 12-03-2015, 23:04
tim59
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Not enough demand for the products. Not enough people buying the products
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Old 13-03-2015, 11:08
indianwells
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Yep, sales, pure and simple.
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Old 13-03-2015, 12:31
sarahj1986
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Lack of sales and sometimes if they redesign a product
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Old 13-03-2015, 13:15
walterwhite
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Did this really need a thread? If products don't sell they stop making them.
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Old 13-03-2015, 13:18
Isambard Brunel
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There are far too many reasons to list. Sometimes it's to streamline products and remove duplication and overlap.

Sometimes it's because they just want to limit their product offerings to simplify the logistics and factory requirements. So if Lynx have 10 popular fragrances but need to justify the existence of their R&D department, they have to introduce new fragrances but don't want to end up with 100 fragrances to manage and supply. So they discontinue one as they add another, even if it was popular.
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Old 13-03-2015, 21:50
degsyhufc
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Could also be a change in the production process where it is just to much hassle to make a different product to the rest of the range.

Or raw ingredient prices increase and it's not worth the effort in producing it as the profit margin will be too low.
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Old 14-03-2015, 01:18
LilAbby
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Or they "improve" a product which make it much worse. Usually involving it making it sweet and less savoury.
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Old 14-03-2015, 12:46
brangdon
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Sometimes it's because they noticed I had started buying it.
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Old 14-03-2015, 14:07
petral_gal
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Sometimes it's because they noticed I had started buying it.
Haha THIS!!!
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Old 17-03-2015, 11:13
noise747
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Customers complain like hell if a product is discontinued and sometimes blame us. When I say that not enough people are buying the product, they come back with, well I buy it.
I do admit it can be annoying when things do vanish, but that is life.
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Old 17-03-2015, 16:23
Watcher #1
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A combination of pure sales, if they make enough profit per unit, supermarkets range reviews, ingredients no longer available, range simplification...

There are lots of reasons why stuff disappears from the shelves
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Old 19-03-2015, 01:59
LaVieEnRose
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Customers complain like hell if a product is discontinued and sometimes blame us. When I say that not enough people are buying the product, they come back with, well I buy it.
I do admit it can be annoying when things do vanish, but that is life.
I've often found that discontinued items were only ever available in some stores anyway, so sales were always bound to be lower. If they're not on the shelf, people can't buy them, obviously. An example is Waitrose flavoured milk. They used to do vanilla and coffee, but they were only sold in two of the four branches nearest to me. Now all they do is the bog standard strawberry, chocolate and banana, same as all the other supermarkets.
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Old 19-03-2015, 11:45
Miss C. DeVille
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Usually as soon as I try something and like it you can guarantee it'll be discontinued.

A long time ago I tried Jacobs sun-dried tomato crackers. They were lovely and were always selling out, while there were lots of the plain ones taking up loads of shelf space. Then they were discontinued...why? It wasn't because they didn't sell.
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Old 22-03-2015, 11:31
bar of soap
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It's not unknown for a company to announce a withdrawal of a product specifically to create a backlash of consumers demanding that it remain on the shelves.

Ref; Heinz Salad Cream withdrawal announcement in 2000 only to receive a stay of execution by public demand.

http://ostensible-demarketing.blogsp...bye-hello.html

In the case of New Coke v Classic Coke this makes interesting reading.

http://ostensible-demarketing.blogsp...-you-dont.html

I understand from some in the industry that publishing an intention to withdraw a product or, indeed, actually removing it from the shelves is almost guaranteed to create a demand for it.
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