Blackberry: a perfect example of the product life cycle

Who hasn't ever had a Blackberry? Probably most of us have ever used one, but it is probably too that the majority of the people who liked Blackberry a few years ago isn't using this brand anymore. This can be explained because this brand has reached its last stage: decline

In the last few years, Blackberry has passed through all the stages of the product life cycle:

1. Introduction:

Its first product launched was the Blackberry 850, in 1999, and it supposed an innovation in technology because it had a complete keyboard and internet connection, what differentiated it from other mobile phones. Sales increased slightly, and there were no competitors in the market.

2. Growth:

Blackberry became public, and it received a huge amount of money allocated to investment. Blacberry reached 10 million customers in 2007 and had operations in 120 countries, becoming the leader in sales in the telephony market. New competitors emerge, such as Apple or Samsung.

3. Maturity:

From 2007 to 2011, Blackberry reached its top in sales, and then sales remained constant. It had a market share of 25%. In this stage, it was clear that its main competitors were getting closer.

4. Decline:

In 2013 Blackberry had a market share of less than 3%, what was an indicator that something was going wrong. Probably the worst mistake of the company was to underestimate its competitors, trusting in the loyalty of its customers and not making any innovation.

In 2013 Blackberry launched a new version, the 10.3.1., trying to get to a stage of Re-Introduction, but it seems difficult for the company to reach the fame that it had before.