Consumer Brands: Pricing Power Moves for Higher Profits
Note: A version of this article was published in our LinkedIn newsletter, Pricing Power Clarity®. Pricing power – defined broadly In our previous newsletter installments, we proposed expanding the accepted meaning of “pricing power” to include the full toolset of pricing and offering design, as long as such actions drive gains in a company’s earnings metric. […]
P.T. Barnum On The Importance of Promotion … Does It Have To Be Price Promotion?
Illustrating the point It’s the make-or-break holiday season for retailers and consumer brands, and the words “promotional environment” are everywhere. Categories like footwear and apparel, which are both seasonal and often discretionary, seem to be particularly sensitive to “how promotional” to get in this environment. Even brands like Lululemon, who take pride in a “no […]
Trupanion’s Price Increase For Pet Insurance Barks of Desperation
Summary Note: This article was published on SeekingAlpha, the world’s largest investor site, on November 14, 2022. At the time of submission, the last closing price (as of Friday close on November 11) was $64.86. Trupanion has higher loss ratios and higher premiums than its competitors, which will squeeze it between a rock and […]
Catalyst Quote & Comment: Sam Walton On How The Customer Can Fire Everyone
Illustrating the point One word: Metaverse. It’s been a very tough week to be any of the tech giants, with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta all reporting missed earnings or declining revenue guidance. Every brutal line of bad news basically boils down to one thing: customers are or will be spending less, and these […]
“Keep Climbing” Indeed: Delta’s Basic Economy Fares & Shrinkflation With Clever Twists
Summary / TLDR Delta’s motto, currently “Keep Climbing”, seems a bit more apropos these days. On December 10, Delta landed some bad news on price-conscious travelers: its Basic Economy tickets will come with even fewer benefits than before. They will no longer accrue Sky Miles or count towards Medallion status. This pricing move (let’s be […]
Pruning Customers to Increase Profitability In A Supply-Constrained Environment
Many companies operate on the assumption that any customer providing “some” additional contribution margin is a good customer. Surely having it is better than the alternative, they reason. This week, FedEx disagreed. It didn’t just let go 1,400 customers, but made it public. It put both customers and competitors on notice that severe supply constraints […]
