ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, we revealed how a product like gas lamps can go through phases of creation, growth and obsolescence with the arrival of electricity. This brings us to the idea of a life cycle for products. The product life cycle (PLC) is an old and well-known concept. Briefly, this concept says that the market for products goes through distinctive stages. The first stage is birth or emergence, when a product is first brought into the world. This is a period when customers are unfamiliar with the product, so demand is small. At the same time, producers are still grappling with the potential of the technology and a number of product variants will exist in what is a rather experimental stage.
