How well does our system work? You can use the numerical index to check our blogs from the last big recession.
Much of the world suffered a severe recession from 2008 to 2011. During that time, we wrote more than 250 blogs using publicly available information and our Strategystreet system to project what would happen in various companies and industries who were living in those hostile environments. In 2022, we began to update each of these blogs to see what later took place and to check the quality of our conclusions. To date, we have completed the first 175 of our original blogs. You can use these updated blogs to see how well the Strategystreet system works.
Over the years, we have had more than a few clients claim that pricing in their industry is “illogical.” But these prices are set and agreed to by people, using logic. Prices aren’t usually “illogical,” but they can often be painful. Here are some examples of both good and bad prices and how they came about. Posted 1/19/09 How can pricing hit zero? This has just happened with container freight rates on shipments from South Asia to Europe. Other rates are not much better. Container shipment fees from North Asia to Europe have fallen…
Read MoreHere is an industry with an overwhelmingly dominant leader. No competitor can touch this leader on either Function or Reliability. It looks like the future is secure for this leader. But is it? Some examples of dominant leaders argue yes. Others, though, suggest a warning that dominance may not last for many years. Posted 1/15/09 The global semiconductor industry is in severe overcapacity today. There are two causes for this current overcapacity: competitor expansion and a fall-off in demand. Competitors expanded rapidly over the last few years when demand was relatively high. New semiconductor capacity…
Read MoreEven a competitor who tends to dominate industries it enters has its own weaknesses. In this blog, the market had a competitor who tended to roll over competition. It did not succeed here because other competitors in the industry went around it to gain share with the industry’s Very Large customers and offer services the intimidating competitor could not offer. Posted 1/12/09 The fight is on in retail pharmacy. It started with Wal-Mart. In 2006, Wal-Mart introduced a $4 generic prescription for a one month supply of hundreds of unbranded drugs. This move attracted a…
Read MoreCan a mid-level competitor in an industry with a dominant competitor thrive in the market? Here is not one but several midrange competitors surviving and even thriving in such a market. They keep a tight focus on their product specialties and an iron grip on their cost structures. Here is their story. Posted 1/5/09 Overcapacity, where an industry can produce more than customers currently demand, is the result either of a fall-off in demand or the expansion of competition. During the 80s and 90s, three quarters of the industries that went into overcapacity did so…
Read MoreHere is one of the most successful marketing innovations ever conceived. It has created loyal customers and magnificent profitability. It has carried its companies through years of troubled waters and is largely responsible for their ability to beat back very low-priced competition. It also looks like it is unkillable. Posted 12/22/08 About twenty-five years ago now, American Airlines introduced the first Frequent Flyer Program, which awarded airline passengers miles for the “mileage” they had flown on the airline. These miles were convertible into airline tickets. This program spawned many copy cat competitors, including all the…
Read MoreOver the years, Schwab has revealed itself to be a remarkable source of innovation. Here is one innovation that has succeeded for Schwab because it streamlined its participation in the business. It redefined the business of credit cards and how that business fit with its primary business. It made some changes and received the award of a more profitable and cost-effective innovation. Posted 12/18/08 Charles Schwab Corporation is introducing the Schwab Bank Invest First Visa Signature credit card. This no-annual-fee card offers an unusual set of benefits. First, it returns a 2% cash rebate…
Read MorePosted 12/1/08 I was struck by a recent article about statins. A recent study has found that these cholesterol lowering drugs reduce the heart risk in even healthy patients. That fact was not what struck me, though. What jumped out at me was the size of the market share for generic statins. The generics in the statin market make up 49% of total prescriptions. The well-known Lipitor is the leading branded statin, at 27%, followed by Crestor at 9%, Vytorin at 7%, and Zetia at 6%. But the generics dominate all of those branded…
Read MoreMost industries evolve over time. The industry may start with many competitors. With the passage of time, usually 4 competitors will, through more attractive products and competitive acquisitions, gain 65% to 85% of the total market. Here we have an industry that has devolved. It started with a dominant competitor operating a near monopoly. The advent of the Internet created new competitors offering products at several different price points in competition with the leader. The formerly dominant leader still leads its industry, but its hold is much more tenuous than it was several years ago. Posted…
Read MoreHere is a consumer product that was a dismal failure for both the producer and the customer. Surprisingly, it did not go away. Instead, it found a home in the larger business market. There are simple and clear reasons why the product failed with consumers and why it was so successful with enterprises. The consumer product failed on each of the four aspects of the Customer Buying Hierarchy but succeeded brilliantly on all four aspects in the enterprise market. The product turned out to be a win – win, just to not where the carriers…
Read MoreFor a number of years, many of us have seen Macy’s as the prime representative of the “traditional” retail market for apparel and home goods. They may be traditional, but they are far from the market leader. Instead, market leadership resides with companies once considered price discounters. The “traditional” retailers have surrendered pride of place to far larger and more aggressive competitors. This change happened over a number of years. Here is how some of that change took place over the last 10 years. Posted 11/3/08 Kohl’s Corporation is opening forty-six stores soon as…
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