Xref: utzoo comp.misc:1998 misc.headlines:2412 misc.jobs.misc:1408 talk.rumors:1090 Checksum: 46056 Path: utzoo!utgpu!career From: career@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Gideon B. Sheps) Date: Fri, 26-Feb-88 14:36:45 EST Message-ID: <1988Feb26.143645.26271@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> Organization: Career Centre, University of Toronto. Newsgroups: comp.misc,misc.headlines,misc.jobs.misc,talk.rumors Subject: Re: Doom and Gloom, Reply to David Vangerov References: <1177@polyslo.UUCP> <2197@isis.UUCP> <1902@saturn.ucsc.edu> <1224@polyslo.UUCP> <3320@watcgl.waterloo.edu> Reply-To: career@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Gideon B. Sheps) In article <3320@watcgl.waterloo.edu> jjboritz@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Jim Boritz) writes: >Another issue is the number of small market segments. On its own, a >small market segment can be discounted, because its size is unimportant >in relation to other larger values. However, the existence of many >small markets adds up. Would these not make up a big enough population >segment to alter your figures? > On the topic of small market segments adding up... An economist I heard speak recently (I saw a few, so I don't recall exactly who held which opinion - suffice it to say they were all different :-) was of the opinion that the market for manufactured products (everthing from toasters to PCs) is going to change from its current "mass market" approach to a catering to all these special interest segments approach in the near (10-20 years) future. Those companies that can't, will of course die out. His reasoning (simplified) is that there are so many of these special needs, they are sufficiantly different, and people are more and more begining to expect (or are willing to pay for) the adaptations for their need; that the lowest common denominator approach simply won't sell by the next century. Actually - the argument was more in terms of North American vs Offshore production.. the mass market LCD approach will still sell the most units, but North America will never be able to produce them as cheaply as the "emerging nations" (who ever happens to be emerging at the time), North American companies, in order to survive will have to move towards servicing the special needs groups. Was that relevant ? I hope so... -- University of Toronto Career Centre Research Office Koffler Student Services Centre Gideon Sheps 214 College st. W. 416/ 978-2081 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 2Z9 career@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu career@utorgpu.bitnet The University has a stake in any opinions I develop while using their resources should they prove to be commercially viable.