PRODUCT MIX

A product mix is the set of all products and items that a particular seller offers for sale to buyers. Product mix has
a certain width, length, depth, and consistency.

Width: No. of different product lines e.g. P& G carries width of five lines- Detergents, Bath soaps, Toothpaste,
Disposable Diapers, Paper Tissues.
Length: Total no. of items in its product mix.
Depth: No. of variants of each product in the line.
Consistency: refers to how closely related the various product lines are in end use, production requirements,
distribution channels.

The company can expand its business in four ways.

1 Add new product lines (widen product mix)
2 Lengthen each product line.
3 Add more product variants to each product (deepen product mix)
4 More product line consistency or less.

Avon’s product mix consists of four major product lines. Cosmetics, Jewelry,
fashions and household items. Each products line consists of several sub lines. For
example, cosmetics breaks down into lipstick, eyeliner, powder and so on. Each
line and sub line has many individuals items.

Avon’s product mix includes 1300 items. Kmart Stocks 15000 items, 3M markets
more than 60,000 products and general electric manufactures as many as 2,50,000
items.

A company product mix has four important dimensions (i) width (ii) length (iii)
depth and (iv) consistency.

(i) Width Product mix width refers to the no. of different product lines the co.
Carries. e. g. Procter & Gamble consisting of many product lines, paper, food,
household, cleaning, medicinal, cosmetics and personal care products.

(ii) Length Product mix length refer to the total no. of items the Co. carries within
its products lines. Procter & Gamble typically carries many bands with in each
lines, for example, it sells eleven laundry detergent, eight hand soap, six shampoo
and four dishwashing detergent.

(iii) Depth Product mix depth refer to the no. of versions, offered of each product
in the line. Thus Procter & gamble’s Crest Tooth Paste comes in three size and two
formulation (paste & Gel)
 (iv) Consistency Consistency of product mix refers to how closely related the
various product lines are in end use, production requirements, distribution
channels, or some other way.

Ex:- Suppose a company is selling toothpaste, mouthwashes, gargles etc..

then the product lines are said to be consistent. Since all these are useful to
the same set of people, and require a similar distribution chain. On the
other hand if the company sells, say, wrist watches, refrigerators,
detergents etc... the supply chain for these differs, and the products are
said not to have consistency.

Product Line

A product line is a group of products that are closely related because they function
in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through
the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges. For example, Nike
produces several lines of athletic shoes, Motorola produces several lines of
telecommunications products, and AT&T offers several lines of long-distance
telephone services.

Product Mix
A product mix (or product assortment) consists of all the product lines and items
that a particular seller offers for sale. Avon’s product mix consists of four major
product lines: cosmetics, jewelry, fashions, and household items. Each product line
consists of several sublines.

A company’s product mix has four important dimensions: width, length, depth, and
consistency. Product mix width refers to the number of different product lines the
company carries. For example, Procter & Gamble markets a fairly wide product
mix consisting of many product lines, including paper, food, household cleaning,
medicinal, cosmetics, and personal care products. Product mix length refers to the
total number of items the company carries within its product lines. Procter &
Gamble typically carries many brands within each line. For example, it sells eleven
 laundry detergents, eight hand soaps, six shampoos, and four dishwashing
detergents.

Product line depth refers to the number of versions offered of each product in the
line. Thus, Procter & Gamble’s Crest toothpaste comes in three sizes and two
formulations (paste and gel). Finally, the consistency of the product mix refers to
how closely related the various product lines are in end use, production
requirements, distribution channels, or some other way. Procter & Gamble’s
product lines are consistent insofar as they are consumer products that go through
the same distribution channels. The lines are less consistent insofar as they
perform different functions for buyers.