Free Inflation & Price Increases Whitepaper For B2C Firms

1. Evidence of an inflationary acceleration is accumulating. Price actions by industry leaders are both responding and contributing to it.
2. All firms should be prepared to respond to accelerating inflation with thoughtful, informed actions based on their own analysis.
3. Price increases are a frequent response to inflation. They can range from purely defensive “layman’s pass-thru”, to opportunities for profit growth.
4. B2C industry leaders rarely raise prices merely to “pass-thru” inflation costs and preserve previous profit levels.
5. This creates profit opportunities for competitors. Whether followers or contrarians, middle market firms must decide which path is more advisable given their competitive strengths, margins profile, and their pricing “culture.”
6. Timing and preparedness matter. Whether you start in a follower or contrarian mindset, translating it into a strategy and concrete actions plan takes time, and consumers’ higher WTP won’t stay “primed” forever.

Note:

While the paper is written primarily for B2C / Consumer Brands in the middle-market, we believe industry leaders & lower middle-market firms grapple with the same challenges and can also benefit  from the framework illustrated in the paper.