Collapse of Distinction

I have just finished reading Scott McKain's book "Collapse of Distinction". It does a good job of describing competitive emulation.

Company A invents a truly unique product or service and establishes itself as a leader in the market. Company B, seeing Company A's success, enters the market and introduces a similar product. Now the emulation cycle begins. Company A starts developing its product in a way that not only serves its customers, but also competes feature to feature with Company B's offerings. Company B responds similarly.

The end result? Products or services that are indistinguishable from each other.

So who is distinct in our copy and paste society? We could name a few I am sure, but it would be a short list. Here is one of mine.

Hope & Greenwood

Visit the Hope & Greenwood Blog

I love this old-fashioned British sweet shop (candy store). They carry the sweets of my childhood, and my fathers childhood too! But that is not unique, there are many others that sell the confections of yesteryear. What makes Hope and Greenwood different is that they do it with a style that conjures the saucy sitcoms of 60's and 70's Britain. Full of humor and farce, lacking any political correctness, the Hope and Greenwood style is descended from the famous "Carry On" movies. As you read along, you can't help wonder what all this has to do with sweets.

The answer? Everything.