Revival of Scissors

Product Life Cycle claims that every product has a life cycle. A product is launched; it grows, and at some point, may die. In most markets the majority of the major brands have held their position for at least two decades. The dominant product life-cycle, that of the brand leaders which almost monopolize many markets, is therefore one of continuity. This case of scissors proves that marketing management itself can alter the shape and duration of a brand's life cycle.
ITC launched a new product and it was an almost monopolistic competition. Demand had to be created: it had to instigate new consumers as well as change the habits of non cigarette smoking population. It also had to induce the non smokers to try out smoking. A customer tempting for a cigarette was necessarily a customer for scissors.
ITC kept a close demand watch on the price demand patterns and increased the price in small doses. The price strategy continued as part of the penetration strategy. The ratio of promotion cost to sales declined. Scissors as a new smoking form was being accepted.
Scissors reached the maturity stage by the end of 1940s. But now the market welcomed the new low priced product. Panama emerges as a competent product posed a challenge to Scissors. The various strategies used by Panama involved: Product differentiation, the importance of distinct brand image, innovation in product and packaging and trade push. This directly hit the scissors.
The advertising and promotion of scissors became outdated and lacked a distinctive position. Panama was slow in growth initially but through aggressive marketing strategy and sustained market inputs, it started growing in the early 1950s. Scissors lacked contemporariness when compared to panama. In saturation or decline phase scissors volume of sales was stagnant. It was being gobbled up by competing brands. Its sales suffered and volume declined.

Then ITC came up corrective measures to revive scissors. Their first corrective measures