Issues Regarding Product “Affordability”

“Affordability” of products and services, both now and in the future, is an issue that seems to lack recognition, for a variety of reasons including aggregate U.S. income trends. One example of this was highlighted on Wednesday, and was seen in a CNBC article titled “New Cars Increasingly Out of Reach for Many Americans” that discusses …

Read more

PPI,CPI & Profit Margin Trends – January 2012 Update

In various past posts I have written of the challenges businesses face in pricing, given today’s economic environment.  One aspect that I mentioned in the December 16, 2010 and April 25, 2011 posts was how the PPI (Producer Price Index) growth was significantly outpacing that of the CPI. Since those posts, this PPI-CPI growth rate issue has remained notable.  …

Read more

PPI,CPI & Profit Margin Trends – October 2011 Update

In various past posts I have written of the challenges businesses face in pricing, given today’s economic environment.  One aspect that I mentioned in the April 25 2011 and December 16 2010 posts was how the PPI (Producer Price Index) growth was significantly outpacing that of the CPI. Since those posts, this PPI-CPI growth rate issue has remained notable.  …

Read more

PPI,CPI & Profit Margin Trends

In various past posts I have written of the challenges businesses face in pricing, given today’s economic environment.  One aspect that I mentioned in the April 25 2011 and December 16 2010 posts was how the PPI (Producer Price Index) growth was significantly outpacing that of the CPI. Since those posts, this PPI-CPI growth rate issue has remained …

Read more

Rising Input Costs And The “Profit Margin Squeeze”

In various past posts I have written of the challenges businesses face in pricing, given today’s economic environment.  One aspect that I mentioned in the December 16 post was how the PPI (Producer Price Index) growth was significantly outpacing that of the CPI. Since that December 16 post, this PPI-CPI growth rate issue has been exacerbated.  …

Read more

The Changing Dynamics Underlying Profit Margins

In past posts I have written of the challenges businesses face in pricing, given today’s economic environment.  One aspect that I mentioned in the December 16 post was how PPI (Producer Price Index) growth was significantly outpacing that of CPI. Since that December 16 post, the PPI-CPI growth rate issue has been exacerbated.  Doug Short, …

Read more

PPI & CPI Trends

On Tuesday the November PPI figures were released, and they continue their recent trend of being significantly higher than the CPI figures. Should this trend continue, it will of course likely have a significant impact on many companies’ profitability. I believe there are many reasons for why PPI growth is trending significantly higher than CPI. …

Read more

Premium Pricing Strategies And The Economy

(This is my second blog post that solely discusses pricing issues.  My first was on April 23, 2010) Firms in general have enjoyed the economic “tailwind” of rising sales for decades.  While this can be seen in a variety of measures, one of particular note is that of Retail Sales.  As seen in the following …

Read more

Pricing In Our Current Environment

Pricing is a very complex discipline even during periods of economic growth and stability.  With the onset of increased economic uncertainty and volatility over the last few years, pricing’s complexity has significantly grown. Of course, it is impossible to characterize all firms as having the same pricing issues, as each industry and firm has a …

Read more