The smartphone market in the late 2000s and early 2010s is a prime example of a market so large that the key challenge for competitors was not taking market share from each other, but rather scaling up their production and distribution capabilities to meet rapidly growing global demand.
During this period, smartphones were transitioning from a luxury item to a necessity for many consumers around the world. This shift was driven by advancements in technology, decreasing prices, and the increasing availability of mobile internet services. Major players like Apple, Samsung, and a host of other manufacturers, both established and emerging, were not just competing against each other for market share; they were racing to expand their production capacities and distribution networks to capture the burgeoning demand.
The global appetite for smartphones was so immense that many manufacturers were able to grow their sales and revenue significantly without necessarily having to eat into the market shares of their competitors. This period saw a rapid expansion in manufacturing facilities, supply chain networks, and retail distribution channels, as companies sought to make their products available to as many consumers as possible, as quickly as possible.
In essence, the market's rapid expansion created opportunities for multiple players to grow simultaneously, with the primary challenge being the ability to scale up operations efficiently to capitalize on the growing demand.
The same thing is repeating itself in big pharma with the proliferation of incretin mimetic therapies. The major players, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are not currently competing for share, they're competing for capacity.
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