Does these Home Brands need to Die?

Gold Spot: I can still feel its taste.

In 1993, upon Coca Cola's re-entry into the Indian market, they bought out and replaced Gold Spot with Fanta. Those who have tasted it will still have fond childhood memories of the zing thing drink.I still remember the promotion of Gold spot to collect the crown which had the jungle book characters in return for the comic books.

Big fun: A real fun
Big fun bubblegum wrapped in pink and green stripes can never be forgotten. It was almost a hard piece of stone, which required substantial mastication to produce the first bubble!
I was one among those who was able to collect 120 runs and 10 wickets for the exchange of the mini-book with cricketer’s photos. I remember even the NP bubblegum which was a major competitor to Big Fun during their initial period of launch.

I am clueless on the reasons behind the death of such a highly popular brand. But I do remember them facing rumour issues of children getting fainted due to consuming the product.Its sad to see an Indian brand die so quickly from its peak of being the leader in its market share.



Solidair tv: The one we had at home for many years.
There were many television sets launched during Asian Games. Crown, EC TV, Weston, Keltron, Televista, Dyanora, Konark, Texla, Binatone are some of those homemade brands.
I think most of the companies shut shop and after the end of black and white TV era, most of them failed to upgrade. Except BPL, Videocon and Onida. Still Solidair is listed in Bombay stock exchange.



Gopal Tooth powder: “Indhiyaa Malayseeyaa Ilangai Singappoorill sirandhadhu, Gopal Palpodi!”

Still in the market uniting the above mentioned countries with no sign of improving its market share in the past two decades.

Is Apple losing its Cult?

I have been using Apple products for more than a decade with repeat purchases that relates to my work. I use to proudly say that I belong to the Apple’s cult family and now I shun. Not because I have issues with the product but because of its new customers.

We know that Cult is "something fashionable or popular among a particular group of people". In terms of Cult Brand, it means fascination towards these brands not because they deliver distinctive benefits, trustworthy service, or innovative technologies (though they may provide all of these). Rather, this brand fanaticism is due to the reason that these iconic brands forge a deep connection with the culture. In essence, they compete for culture share.

Years back when i get to meet Apple user, we had a lot to share and talk about the product and its features, but today, I listen to comments from new users who are the buyers of products such as ipod and iphone. Some how I’m not able to accept these new customers as part of the Cult Group. I’m sure they are not anyways.

I don’t think these new customers who use ipod and iphone have the desire to buy an iMac or an Apple Pro. If they are, then I can consider them as part of the cult. For instance, let’s take Harley Davidson. HD is a rider’s bike and many wish to have one and those who buy its branded apparel products such as jackets, caps and boots, always long to buy the bike one day. This is a simple qualification for a new member to join the cult group of HD. The new customers of Apple who use the ipod and iphones are not just qualified to be part of the Cult Group, but they are also turning to be dangerous for its overall core customers.

Today I see Apple launching more of its products for the masses and very minimum efforts are put in place for upgrading its products such as Mac which are used majorly by its cult group. Well I think it’s the management who has shifted its focus from being more customer-worthy to investor-worth in the past few years. I’m sure the same management will also know that it’s because of its Cult Group Apple has reached its present position.