Market‐Share Madness

The notion of “market share” has ravaged the board‐rooms of corporate America for a generation. There are hundreds of classic examples of where share leaders—probably low‐cost producers—have picked up all the marbles and won. However, there are other examples of market‐share blunders that should alert businessmen to be wary of unrestrained share strategies that can be devastating. Despite these blunders, many corporate managements have failed to realize that while low delivered cost can create the opportunity for larger market share, share itself does not assure high profitability.