Threadless Discussion Question

In what other industries or areas would Threadless’ community-driven product development model work well? And not so well?
Threadless’s community driven business model works well due to two main reasons. (1) Firstly, the business model itself is unique and has created a first mover advantage. (2) Being a small company, it has focused on small scale manufacturing which has enabled the members to continue their contribution to Threadless. Threadless’s business model actively involves customers, which is unlike other apparel companies that release monotonous t-shirt designs. At Threadless members actively participate by critiquing designs, blogging and by posting songs and videos. Threadless has also been profitable by selling the designed t-shirts to its members.

Basically, Threadless business model offers customization of products. This community driven product development model will work well in an industry that focuses on limited or specialized number of product lines. In other words, the model will not work out well in large manufacturing industries such as cars, machinery and parts. In large scale manufacturing industries products are usually designed/manufactured in a monotonous manner due to economies of scale and mass distribution. So it will not work well here. On the other hand, Threadless’s model will work well in the following industries and if implemented right it will also enable the company to make huge profits.

• Furniture industries
• Home Building
• Manufacturing Antique products and designs