Archives tagged: market share
At the beginning of the Great Recession, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) had a clear policy against price promotions. By the end of the Great Recession, price promotions were clearly part of Abercrombie & Fitch’s retail strategy. What changed? Was Abercrombie & Fitch’s price promotion policy shift simply another shoot-from-the-hip shotgun response to declining sales, or was it a needed change to improve growth and profits?
More As a customer of the Amazon online marketplace and self proclaimed elastic demander of new books in all forms and genres, I find myself intrigued by the pricing segmentation strategies employed. Forcing the consumer to self-identify their willingness to pay using tactical segmentation hedges circumvents the blind online interface between the customer and firm. The consumer’s marginal benefit is indirectly discovered by the time of purchase and method of delivery. Essentially, Amazon has captured a significant array of customers at different pricing points for the same desired good, resulting in revenue outcomes more consistent with quasi-complete price segmentation.
More C. Larry Pope, CEO of Smithfield Foods, Inc. has frankly told the market to expect rising pork prices to keep rising. We have seen protein producers fail in price management before, so should we believe him? This time, I believe they got the message.
More Most pricing strategists would agree that having a low price is not a competitive advantage in and of itself. In fact, thinking that low prices are always a good strategy for competition is deeply misguided. However, at times, targeting low prices can lead to a strategic focus which delivers tremendous results. For example, Ikea, Wal-Mart, and Southwest Airlines all have low prices and profitably take market share. In this article, we will examine the flaws of assuming low prices is a good competitive strategy, then demonstrate how one firm, Southwest Airlines, redefined the product through target pricing to win the market profitably.
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Spring is nigh. Krokus přijí Kdy? Co chcěš? There is a gigantic leap between a good idea and a successful, money-making business.…
More In October of 2010, Intel Corp. took an unexpected move by granting Achronix Semiconductor Corp. access to its most advanced foundry to produce field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips. Xilinx Inc. and Altera Corp. currently dominate the FPGA industry. How serious of a threat is Intel’s move to the historic industry cohorts? More specifically, will this move harm industry profits as competition heats up? And, how should executives and investors react?
More The Wall Street Journal has reported that Proctor & Gamble Co.’s new CEO, Robert McDonald, is “slashing prices” and warns of an impending price war in the branded consumer packaged good (CPG) industry. Yet, Mr. McDonald states, “In my mind there’s not a price war going on.” Is the Wall Street Journal guilty of hyperbole or is Mr. McDonald blithe to the profit destruction of price cuts?
More “What business are you in?” Theodore Levitt, 1925-2006. First to market doesn’t make you the winner, the best offering does. A growing…
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 The beginning of a new decade is the best possible benchmark. It is the perfect time to evaluate current business practices, set…
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