It’s tough to knowingly put your revenues at risk. To release a product you know will cut into the sales of an existing product. Why would anyone do that?
Because if you don’t someone else will. Apple CEO Tim Cook loves cannibalization, as long as it’s self-inflicted.
‘We know iPad is cannibalizing the Mac, but that doesn’t worry us. On iPad in particular, we have the mother of all opportunities because the Windows market is much larger than the Mac market. It’s clear it’s already cannibalizing some. I’ve said for years now that I believe the tablet market will be larger than the PC market at some point, and I still believe that.’
Of course it’s a gamble. That’s business. But cannibalization isn’t wrong, simply because competitive advantages don’t last forever. In fact the only safe assumption to make in business is that any competitive advantage you have will be copied, leap-frogged or made obsolete. Cannibalization may be what keeps you ahead of the curve.
Bon appetit!
Your thoughts?
Michael
Be a Cannibal
