As I was doing research on the cosmetics industry, I made a notice that the biggest threat to any company that participates in it is intense competition. One of effective ways to succeed is to differentiate your company in some way. That could be:1. to see the potential in an idea and enter the market first before your competitors, 2. to have a product feature that gives a company niche dominance, 3. to receive dominance in market share and distribution channels, 4. to have a monopoly status or receive favorable government protection and treatment which allow you to differentiate.
The company that I want to look at is well-known by many - Max Factor. There are several reasons for that. But aside for a wide product line and fine quality that it provides, Max Factor was a first name that you hear when new product comes up on the market. A lot of products that we've heard for the first time were associated with Max Factor. Here are some facts: 1. first coining the term "makeup"; 2. first professional makeup for motion pictures in 1914; 3. first false eyelashes; 4. first products like: lip gloss, modern foundation as we know it today, eyebrow pencil, concealer; 5. first to come up with water-resistant makeup.
It sounds like a lot of products, that are in our everyday use today, were created by Max Factor. But to create a product is not enough. Once you establish yourself as the first in the market, you have to be able to stay there. Max Factor found the secret to that as well. The product line is huge, products are of a fine quality and affordable at the same time. The most important thing for Max Factor is constant innovation and creativity. They created the new patent-pending iFX mascara brush and new Lash Perfection Mascara, which provides precise coating and defining lashes from root to tip, including hard-to-cover areas in inner and outer corners of eyes. This product line has several options that can suit everyone, including mascaras that provide volume, length, lift, waterproof feature, stretch and separate features, and the one that doesn't have any color in it. The product seems to be very popular with customers and could be found in a great variety in stores, which is a great way to get your product to customers.
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4 comments:
yes, Max Factor does have its advantage, but it's not the absolute advantage. max Factor does come out some good products first. but, the other companies also do that...
actually, Max Factor is not the firm dominate the industry... so, i am not sure if Max Factor is the best example in this field...
anyway, the facts you mentions are really good. these are great advantages for Max Factor, in my opinion.
I think Eddie is a bit too critical of your post. :) I think that Max Factor is an example of what happens to most companies who have a competitive advantage - other players figure out how to produce a product and diminsh the advantage. Like you said a lot of products that we (not me personally :))use were developed by Max Factor, but overtime companies figured out how to make those products and entered the industry thereby reducing or even eliminating Max Factor's competitive advantage.
Hmm, Max Factor?
Sure I have heard of them before, but wow, I did not know they were responsible for creating so much. I am quite familiar with Sephora, Mac, Covergirl, and Revlon -- for some reason I keep thinking of this "Maybe it's Maybelline" song -- but Max Factor seems to be out of the picture these days, at least in terms of TV Advertisement?
Aside from the astonishing importance of makeup inventions (including the term makeup itself), I find myself in awe just reading the many types of mascara that they offer! I didn't even know that they had so many different aspects of eyelashes to worry about and tend to! But as I do learn much from Marcos' posts, I must add this whole makeup topic to the list of things to research. I wonder what we can do with all this makeup that such companies have come up with...it's kind of eerie and cool at the same time, if you ask me.
But if it's popular with customers, I guess that's all that matters. Anyways, it should be a good thing that I don't know anything about these makeup types -- it shows that they have effective marketing techniques that target only the right people =D.
--- Karup
I love maxfactor's mascara. It does really work to extend the length and volume.
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