KROGER PRIVATE LABEL PUBLICATION

Mail Call via the United States Post Office

In today's mail was a publication from the Kroger Company. Kroger is our main supermarket. The publication is called "mymagazine™", "exclusive extras for our best customers"

What is so remarkable about this?

• All products are private label [available exclusively at Kroger]
• 12 coupons
• 20 pages including front and back cover.
  

Main themes

• Indulgence [vanilla cream puffs / Chocolate Oranges]
  
• Holiday [stuffed olives / Black Tiger Shrimp Ring / spiral sliced ham]
• Commodity products [frozen fruits / cheese]

Takeaway

• These private label brands are only available at Kroger
• Kroger wants to drive traffic to their stores. To drive occasion sales would increase sales at competing retailers. Using products and brands only available at Kroger accomplishes the former rather than the later.
• Calling something "exclusive" increases the consumer interest [consumers like to be on the inside / special]

What are your thoughts?

GASOLINE PRICE DROP

Just saw this data from Bloomberg.

Retrieved on 12/09/2008

PETROLEUM (¢/gal)

PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME NYMEX HEATING OIL FUTURE 149.39 .35 .23 01:52 NYMEX RBOB GASOLINE FUTURE 95.38 -.80 -.83 01:10

The futures price of gasoline is less than $1. Most states have fuel taxes of between roughly 30 and 50 cents per gallon. Figure in about 10 cents a gallon for marketing, distribution and profits. 

UPDATE: from API

Some facts:  As of October 1, 2008:

• The nationwide average tax on gasoline is 48.4 cents per gallon as of October 2008, down 1 cent from July 2008.  
• The nationwide average tax on motor diesel fuel is 53.6, a decrease of 2.8 cents from the July 2008 study. 

Graphical representation of fuel taxes in July 2008.

The price of gas is going down, down, down. This is an amazing turn of events from June when prices were spiking at above $4 as a national average.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

What are your thoughts?

What price do you think the national average price will ultimately fall to?

What month will the lowest average price occur in?