An article in he New York Times (Nov 16, 2011) describes the impending regulation that bans manufacturing of the traditional light bulb in January 2012. While sales from inventory can continue, new light bulbs will be required to be more energy efficient. Under the new laws, the brightness of 100 watt bulbs have to be generated using no more than 72 watts. The replacements could be compact flourescent lights or Light Emitting Diodes, but their costs and performance are yet to be accepted. The article suggests that 13% of customers may hoard bulbs, while individual states such as Texas try to repeal the legislation. How should current bulb manufacturers plan for this transition? Given the uncertain future product technologies, how should retailers and consumers react? Given the mercury used in the new bulbs, could even newer regulations cause another shift in the supply chain?
