325
South Korean company posted
record profits of $8.9 billion, up 47
percent from the year before. Over
the same period, Apple’s share of
the smartphone market in Europe
dropped from 30.5 to 25 percent.
This was no doubt partially due to
the popularity of Samsung’s Galaxy
S4, whose new features included
the S-Translator, which enables the
user to translate nine languages
either from speech to text, or from
text to speech.Status anxiety
Soccer teams also take advantage
of planned obsolescence. At the
beginning of each season, most
teams release at least two replica
uniforms for fans to buy. The home
and away shirts are restyled to be
noticeably different from last
year’s uniform. This type of
planned obsolescence is based on
status anxiety. Many fans will
choose to buy the new shirt to keep
up with other fans, or to show
loyalty to their team, even though
the shirt that they bought a year
ago may still look as good as new. ■Children in Zimbabwe wear soccer
shirts donated by English soccer
teams. Soccer fans in Europe will not
buy last season’s shirts because the
styling is updated each season.See also: How fast to grow 44–45 ■ Thinking outside the box 88–89 ■ Protect the core business 170–71 ■
Morality in business 222 ■ Greenwash 268–69
DELIVERING THE GOODS
Updated styling
US industrial designer Brooke
Stevens defined the term “planned
obsolescence” as instilling in
consumers “the desire to own
something a little better, a little
sooner than necessary.” The
strategy of planned obsolescence
was originally developed by General
Motors, who realized that advancing
technology would adversely affect
its future business. During the
1950s, it began updating the
styling of radiator grills, taillights,
and bodywork every few years to
encourage drivers to replace their
cars more often.
Over the last 30 years, as
technology has advanced, cars have
become even more durable and
reliable. Today, new cars are built
to last. With regular servicing the
engine and transmission of a new
car will still provide reliable service
for over 250,000 miles (402,000 km).
Typically, with average usage, this
equates to an expected useful life
of more than a decade. If drivers
only replace their vehicle once
every ten years, this would lead to
low sales for car manufacturers.
To generate higher sales levels,
many carmakers now set out to
create planned obsolescence to
speed up replacement purchase, by
giving cars regular face-lifts. The
redesigns are intended to encourage
status-conscious motorists to ditch
their still perfectly good vehicles for
the latest body shape.New features
Car manufacturers also employ
various other tactics to persuade
consumers to update their vehicles.
New car models incorporate
cutting-edge features such as
touch-screen multimedia control
systems for in-car entertainment, or
additional safety systems, such as
technology that warns about lane
departure and potential collisions.
Phone manufacturers, such as
Samsung and Apple, use planned
obsolescence to increase revenue
by persuading consumers to replace
still-usable cell phones or tablets
with something newer and better.
In this highly competitive market,
the rewards go to the company that
creates planned obsolescence
soonest, which gives them the
fastest rates of replacement
purchase. Samsung has used
this strategy to great effect to
boost profits. In July 2013 theObsolescence never meant
the end of anything,
it’s just the beginning.
Marshall McLuhan
Canadian media theorist (1911– 80)I believe in status symbols.
Brooks Stevens
US industrial designer (1911–95)