Archives tagged: Volkswagen

Playbook for Competitive Price Engagement

By Tim J. Smith, PhD December 11, 2019

Sun Tzu wrote that “The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities……

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Strategic Movements: September 2019

By Tim J. Smith, PhD September 12, 2019

J.M. Smucker Co Passed Input Savings onto Price Cuts. Profits? They fell of course. Q2 2019 found that net sales (revenue) decreased…

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Pricing Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

By Tim J. Smith, PhD March 25, 2019

Entrepreneurs are generally entering a business landscape with less information, less skills, less resources than an established business. In fact, one should wonder how any entrepreneur can succeed against large, entrenched corporations they’re forced to share the market with.

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Strategic Movements: March 2019

By Tim J. Smith, PhD March 24, 2019

I know Elon Musk is a Silicon Valley type person, but is he being rational with distribution and price? Tesla announced in late February a plan to end all physical dealerships and move to an online-only distribution. Their justification: to reduce vehicle price to the mythical $35,000. Is this smart?

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Strategic Movements: February 2019

By Tim J. Smith, PhD February 27, 2019

Netflix is raising its prices from $8 to $9 for its “good” version that allows for streaming to one device at a time and from $11 to $13 for its “better” version that allows for streaming to two devices at a time. They justify it to customers by claiming it is for the development of better content (good PR plan).

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Strategic Movements: January 2017

By Tim J. Smith, PhD January 3, 2017

“Discounting becomes a drug that is hard to get off, and creates this basis for consumer to not trust regular prices,” Uri Minkoff.

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Free Trade, Protectionism and Marketing

By James T. Berger May 9, 2016

Keeping less-productive Americans in their factory jobs means the U.S. government has to impose tariffs or quotas on the more efficiently produced foreign products. This will force the prices of those off shore goods to go up in order to match what it costs to produce them less efficiently in America. So the consumer has to pay, out of his/her own pocket, what it cost to keep a less productive American worker employed.

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Top 6 – March 2013

By Tim J. Smith, PhD April 1, 2013

“If there is a Volkswagen Way, it is to be determined, diligent and attentive to detail, with a glint of ruthlessness.” VW…

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Abercrombie & Fitch: To Price Promote or Not To Price Promote?

By Tim J. Smith, PhD July 13, 2011

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?

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Recession Takes Toll on Brand Values

By James T. Berger April 1, 2009

If you want to see the winners and losers in the current economic downturn, look closely at the 2008 brand valuation numbers produced jointly by Interbrand and Business Week Magazine. Companies suffering on the stock exchange are also taking a beating the calculated value of their brands. Those in distressed industries that are holding their own in sales and profits are likewise holding their own in brand value. New growth companies are picking up the slack and are moving into ever higher positions on the brand valuation scale.

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