Page 10 - Business Blunders 1

Motorola

Failing to keep up with the

times

In 2005, two of the most

powerful consumer electronics

brands were Apple and Motorola.
The introduction of Motorola’s

RAZR line of handsets took the mobile phone market by

storm. With its unique style and ergonomics, Motorola’s thin

Razr phone dominated 2006 with a market share of 22 per

cent at a time when smartphones were first passing their

litmus test with the public.

However, the tide changed quickly, and by the time

Motorola released its first update to the Razr, iPhone and

BlackBerry had taken over as market leaders. Motorola

needed to come up with a winner to follow the RAZR, but it
didn’t.

Motorola’s lack of innovation caused shares to fall more

than 90 per cent within six months, and they’ve never been

able to reclaim the top spot since.

Motorola’s joint-CEO Greg Brown, blamed Motorola’s own

decisions for the company’s decline, when he criticized

Motorola’s planning, products and blindness to the changing

needs of consumers.

Brown highlighted the absence of a RAZR replacement as a

key failure for Motorola. That, together with a misplaced

focus on the developing market and over-investment in