method to the madness?

Ya know, here at method lust, we're all about some great big method hugs and kisses! Dishin' it out left and right, lust lust lust! Come on now, you can just feel the love, can't you? Go on, feel it! Ok, now...

But you know what, it's time for a little tough lust. (Ok, but like really, we still all love ya to death, method. But listen for a moment, ok. It's not you, it's me... no, wait, that isn't it... hold on now.) I've gotten quite a few comments, current and in the past, concerning method's products/scents, and their "method Heaven" moments. Those would be the times method has discontinued a product, or scent. And the frequency of said actions. Just when you get excited about one of their products, or a great new scent, it's gone! Boom. Outta here. Man, and we're disappointed. So much so in fact, we've had to start a support group. Meetings on Thursdays, 8 PM, don't be late... oh heck, I'm late for everything, show up whenever you can. Anyway, I digress... (again.)

The latest example would be the bloq personal care line. That baby lasted all of one year. It debuted April 2007. Oh great Green Mint, what will my life without you be like? Is a year long enough to figure out if a line sells well or not? Could a design change in the packaging have propelled it forward? (Mind you, I loved the packaging, but could see the issues the "everyday man/woman" might have with it. When it first debuted, I struggled with how to get it open, and I've seen others in the aisles with the same issues.) Couldn't a line remain, but the scents change (similar to what they do with the hand washes?)

And what about scents? Lemongrass - that lasted for about three minutes (the way my brain works anyway.) People are a little worried about poor Ginger Yuzu right now (given the recent clearances at Target); a surprising number of people are wanting the Fig aircare scent back, though last I heard it would not be making a return (even for the Fall edition line they present each year.) method dish cubes, man they rocked! Where did they go? And moreso, why? Nothing has ever "replaced" them. I could go on with examples, but hey, we all know what we loved and continue to long for, just like the lingering lovers of our past. Wishing they'd make a return, sitting for days on the couch, watching sappy chic-flicks, crying into our popcorn, hoping at any moment mint dish soap would be calling on the other end of the cellphone, knowing it wasn't going to happen, curling into a ball in the corner of the bed... oh ok, uhm, sorry, went a bit far there, didn't I?

Now some of method's items are limited releases (the Holiday line, the Fall line (to which the Fig scent did fit in, unfortunately, etc.) and sometimes items disappear from store shelves, and they're not discontinued. It's the stores option to simply not carry an item (which is why wet dry sheets can't be found at Target! Thanks, Target! Grr.) But I have heard people discuss how method does seem to discontinue products/scents with regularity, and "if they're not careful, they may lose some of their customers who lose faith in knowing their favorite products will stick around." I know if I go into a store, and pick up, say a Dove bar of soap, two years from now that Dove bar of soap will still be around to pick up again (a new bar, you know; and not that it'll take me two years to use a bar of soap, mind you. Oh, you know what I mean!)

How do you think the "Big Brands" stack up? Do they discontinue their products on a short timeline level? Or do they stick it out longer? Does a smaller company have more leeway to discontinue items and bring out something else without a consumer backlash? Do you think this is a problem for method, or do you think it promotes trying new products/scents? What are your thoughts?

...oh mint dish soap? Why won't you call? WHY?