What If Starbucks Couldn’t Sell Coffee?
I was watching “American Originals: Budweiser” on CNBC tonight, and one of the most interesting things they pointed out was that Anheuser-Busch was unable to produce beer for about 14 years during Prohibition. They survived by diversifying and producing other products, including ice cream, ginger ale and refrigerated cabinets.
What would happen if other companies were unable to produce their flagship product?
What if Starbucks couldn’t sell coffee?
What if Harley-Davidson couldn’t sell motorcycles?
How would these and other similar companies survive?
Apple was originally known for the Mac. It revolutionized the idea of a personal computer, however, nowadays, when consumers think of Apple, they don’t just think of Macs—they think of itunes, ipods, and iphones. They’ve not only dramatically changed the computer industry, they’ve also become brand leaders in music distribution and cell phones.
They didn’t invent these things; they took something familiar and made some distinct changes to make them into something new. These innovations helped them cross the chasm of early adopters into the mainstream market.
Why do so many companies put their eggs into one basket?
