““mature markets are dominated by two phenomena: Product parity: When technological development plateaus, advantages created by technology disappear and competitors produce goods of almost identical quality, from washing-up liquid to computers to lipstick. New entrants, both manufacturers and private label, are able to jump quality learning curves by using outsourced manufacturing, which just further increases the pressure on the market leaders. As far as shoppers can judge, brands become mostly indistinguishable. This leads to substitutability, a death sentence for profits in any industry. There””
