Redesigning Product Lines with Conjoint Analysis: How Sunbeam Does It

Sunbeam Appliance Company, faced with the task of redesigning its lines of small appliances, developed a procedure that couples consumers' evaluations of possible new designs with a marketing research technique—conjoint analysis. In this article, Albert Page and Harold Rosenbaum describe Sunbeam's redesign of its food processor product line. They report detailed information, including key design attributes, alternative product designs, market segments, and competitive positions, and describe the use of a simulation model that predicts the market share of alternative product line configurations before they are even developed or introduced into the market. The procedure provides product line managers with a powerful tool to assist them in redesigning their lines.