Archives posted in: Pricing
How much is a brand worth? For Rick Norsigian, a garage sale hunter and public school building painter, it represents the difference between a $45 set of nice glass negative plates and a rare $200 MM find of Ansel Adams’ art.
More How much is a brand worth? For Whole Foods, a premium grocer, it represents the difference between a $3.49 canister of Quaker Oats rolled oats and $2.99 canister of 365 store brand oats.
More The classic product lifecycle theory predicts that prices fall as competitors enter. Well, do all prices fall? Similarly, many pundits like to talk about first-mover advantage. Well, does it really exist?
An examination of e-reader market demonstrates some serious flaws in a cursory acceptance of these premises. In this article, we look at the price and product evolution of the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Apple iPad to demonstrate some finer nuances of the product lifecycle.
More Going into the great recession, many commentators suggested and corporations undertook across the board price cuts. Many, but not all. Nordstrom took a different route. The results of their approach are in: better customer attraction, better profits, better post-recession positioning.
In this article, we will examine some key strategic decisions made by Nordstrom which enabled their counter-trend approach to triumph over the oft quoted “best practices”.
More The game in business markets has changed. The opportunity landscape has shifted from the stalwarts of North American and Europe to the onetime turbulent and unstable emerging markets. Furthermore, the pricing power that shrank to the ether is returning to the tangible as markets return to growth.
These are bold claims and require bold reengineering of corporate strategy. Before you the reader consider these to be audacious statements from an ill informed outsider on unimportant and irrelevant industries, let me provide the evidence.
More In the last weeks of March 2010, just before the media hoopla hit a crescendo on the release of the first Apple iPad, Sony took a shot to establish a more tenable position within the e-Reader market by dropping the price on the Sony Pocket Reader to $169. Is this the beginning of a standards war or a last ditch attempt to move units before Sony finds itself left in the wake of the Apple iPad?
More The recession has tested even the most resilient business model. Through it, Nordstrom has glowed while Abercrombie & Fitch glowered. What caused the disparity in performance between these two strong firms? Their pricing strategies.
More Since August 2009, Urban Canine, located in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, has been letting dog owners use washing facilities, shampoo, ear-cleaning liquid, towels, and even blow driers for self-wash dog grooming at a price of the customer’s choosing. How has this Pay What You Want (PWYW) promotion faired for Urban Canine? I caught up with Tony Sauer, owner of Urban Canine, to understand how the program’s performance.
More Since the introduction of global distribution systems for airline tickets and hotel rooms, the commoditization of coach flights was foretold. The internet has only exasperated the problem, leading to the despairing cry that, in coach pricing, “an airline can only price as smart as their dumbest competitor.” To combat this horrid position, airlines may want to consider creating a new “Coach Plus” booking class.
More If the Great Recession is over, when will demand return? Is it time to start hiring and re-investing in the business? Should an executive cut further given the low level of demand? Or, even worse, is it time to close shop and look for greener pastures? In this article, we look at the changes in demand driven by the recession, and its implications for corporate strategy during the “new normal” recovery.
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