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Private label is growing in dollar sales in the United States. When consumers need to do some belt tightening they look to store brands (Typically lower priced, there are some premium PL brands that sell at higher price points).
A strong brand differentiation is a solid strategy to neutralize consumer private label substitution.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wal-Mart Spices Up Private Label - WSJ.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Economy 2007-2009 / GDP / Wall Street Journal
GDP has gone up two straight quarters, rising 2.2% in the third quarter after a year of contraction. In all of 2009, GDP fell 2.4%, the biggest drop for an entire year since 10.9% in 1946. GDP rose 0.4% in 2008 and 2.1% in 2007.
via online.wsj.com
Interesting to see that both 2007 and 2008 had positive GDP growth. The 2009 GDP drop seemed a lot deeper than 2.4%. The employment situation certainly was a lot worse for people that lost their jobs or had hours reduced.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Bloomberg: "Does the Apple iPad Make Strategic Sense?"
It's hard to bet against Apple. The two things I admire most about the company are its ability to think holistically about business models (iPod + iTues, iPhone + the App store, iPad + iBookstore) and its willingness to keep innovating. Imagine how different it would have been if Apple stopped at the first generation iPod, or just rode the iPod for as long as it could. Its willingness to step out and enter into new categories is an important lesson for all companies.
via bloomberg.com
Apple is certainly one of the five most innovative companies today. They make consumer friendly products that do new as well as old tasks (email etc) for consumers. They have been seemingly able to raise the bar continually.
If one is not risking failure, one is not making the movements that lead to innovation. For the most part, it looks like Apple got past most of the challenges they came across in the development of the iPad.
Startups In The News
In a sign that 2010 really is a new year, several new start-up "incubators" are slated to pop up around Silicon Valley in the next few months.
Incubators typically help nurture small businesses by providing space, services and mentorship to entrepreneurs, often for a fee or an equity stake in their business. Well-known incubators include Y Combinator and Plug and Play Tech Center, with many venture-capital firms also incubating start-ups.
via online.wsj.com
As the economic recovery becomes more apparent, more people will be reporting on startups. Certainly business publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Business Week will feature them prominently in the near future.
It was not too long ago where the Wall Street Journal had a graphic indicating that every quarter about 200,000 new businesses are launched in the United States.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Coca Cola Bottle Innovation
Coca-Cola Co., under fire from environmentalists for using plastic bottles, has introduced a new packaging material made partly from plants. The container has "the same weight, the same feel, the same chemistry, and functions exactly the same way" as a regular plastic bottle, a Coke spokeswoman says.
via online.wsj.com
Beverage manufactures are under pressure on multiple fronts.
Environmentalists want things like carbon removed from the CPG supply chain. According to the article plastic (PET) is not recycled at a high rate. Here in Michigan there is a ten cent deposit on beverages that are carbonated. The redemption rate on recyclable containers, including cans, is reported as between 95% and 99%.
The lighter beverage makers can make containers, the more that is saved on fuel costs that are part of distribution. It's a delicate balancing act. Strength must be maintained and the package must protect the contents from changing when exposed to environmental conditions that vary. Heat and light being two that may affect the contents.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Harley-Davidson: Tough Economy & Entry To India
One bright spot for Harley-Davidson has been its performance in international markets, where its brand has strong appeal. Last year, it announced plans to enter the fast-growing Indian motorcycle market and will introduce 12 models there this year.
via nytimes.com
Premium products were hit hard in the '07-'09 recession. Harley-Davidson is a premium product. It's rather amazing that HD was able to retain profitability for much of the recession.
It will be interesting to track how the HD entry to India progresses. The economy in India is growing very rapidly.
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