Brand extensions - stretching a point?

A brand - a trademark combined with the emotional dimension that the
public attach to it - can have substantial value, but this takes considerable
time, effort and money to build. Therefore, extending a brand to ventures beyond
its original sphere makes a lot of business sense. However, Chris McLeod of
Hammonds in London reminds us through various examples that brand extension
has its pitfalls. Failure to extend successfully is the lesser risk: the real
danger lies in the potential damage to the core business.