Hey everyone - I can't start a new thread just yet, as I don't have enough posts yet. Otherwise, I would post this as a new topic.
People on this forum - notably in this thread - seem to be either upset with, or not fully understanding why for-profit companies, such as Janty, implement certain business strategies. I know, very unclear, right? let me explain...
First of all, I do not presume to 'know' anything that I share; instead, I am sharing what I have learned in my studies -both undergrad and post-grad.
I am inclined to believe that Janty developed the Mini Fogger to cater to growing demand in a market segment that has not yet been touched by the company. For those that don't know the general terminology and concepts, please let me first explain. Essentially, in business and in the context of business and marketing strategy, there are Industrys, Markets, and Market Segments (and much more...but let's keep it simple), and these components are governed by the laws of supply and demand. Here is an example of how to understand the concepts. In the food 'Industry', there are many sub-markets for many sub-categories of food, and markets are kind of like little pockets of demand for the sub-category withing the larger Industry. If Company X is competing in the cereal segment of the food industry, then it makes
sense for the company to cater to as many sub-markets as possible, while leveraging it's competencies and existing infrastructure. In other words, Company X should not just produce multi-grain cereal for the multi-grain markets, but should also produce goods for the sugar cereal markets. Why? Because, it makes
sense and is aligned with the company's goal of making a profit and competing in as many markets as possible. Furthermore, Company X already has resources, such as a factory in place and several knowledgeable employees that know how to make multi-grain cereal, so why not use the existing resources to also make sugar cereal? And so, after Company X begins production of sugar cereal, it will, hopefully, experience growth; and growth is what for-profit businesses desire. Also, Company X has now diversified its product lines, thereby enhancing its chances of survival in the food industry. The more diverse and company can become, the better off it is, and this is because if one of its product lines fails, it can leverage the other product lines to compensate.
Now, of course this is a VERY crude example. Marketing strategies should be regarded as a systemic model, whereby changing one variable has a systemic affect on another variable.
As for Janty - well, even though the 'super mini' market segment is contrived of relatively inferior products, why should the company ignore the demand in this segment. If there is demand for the inferior 'super mini', then why should Janty not use it's resources of factories, employees that already know about e-cig technology, etc., and ultimately cater to this demand? Janty would not have diversified it's products and created the Mini Fogger if they did not see that the market (the people) demand super mini cigarettes. Further, Janty has not, as far as I can tell, advertised the Mini Fogger as a superior e-cig; one that will out perform larger pen-style models. On top of that, Janty has priced the new product accordingly.
Please view a thread titles 'some beginner questions' and you will see that I am not very pleased with a company known as SmokingEverywhere here in the U.S. SmokingEverywhere sells super mini cigarettes at in-mall kiosks for $150.00USD, and they fraudulently misrepresent their products, claiming all-day batter usage, etc. The also lie about their warranty and won't refund my money or replace a dead atomizer, all the while telling me that the 'atomizer' is the main 'brain' of the device, and the atomizer's cost $50.00USD at wholesale prices. that is a complete lie, and most of us here on this forum know that it is untrue. Janty, from what I have gathered from others on this forum, does very much so honor their warranty; they don't lie about what they sell; and they are more forthcoming with the companies strategy and inner-workings than probably more than 90% of the worlds organizations that are competing for profit in all other industries. Paraphrased from Ludo, the company is operating under the constraints of the laws that govern it's operations.
Okay, I probably went a little too far with this. And I certainly didn't mean to sound condescending to those who already went to business school and understand these concepts. I really just want to convey these concepts to you all so you can maybe look a little further into this matter. Remember, "a conclusion is just a place where you got tired of thinking".
The bottom line is this: There is demand out there in the world for super-mini e-cigs. Janty has further diversified their product lines to serve this demand. Janty is a large enough operation, and this can afford the company the ability to sell the new product at a low price point and ship it with an extra atomizer, all under warranty. So, why the complaints just yet? If the Mini Fogger under-performs most other super-minis of the same advertised caliber and equated price point, then maybe there is a reason to complain. Pick the product that suits you. My girlfriend has the iPod Nano; I have the Touch; mine costs more and does more; her's costs less and does less.
Ludo, I hope you don't take this criticism personally or even seriously. Just keep on doing what you're doing. If someone who doesn't matter is saying something that doesn't matter, then it doesn't matter what they say.