strategy+business: CONSUMER PRODUCTS

The New Consumer Frugality

by Matthew Egol, Andrew Clyde, and Kasturi Rangan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Retailers must adapt to the enduring shift in U.S. consumer spending and behavior, according to a new Booz & Company survey of buying habits.

Why Shoppers Switch

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0600

A new survey reveals that for different types of products, consumers change brands in response to different marketing triggers.

Catering to Nervous Customers

by Matt Palmquist — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600

In industries that offer necessary but often undesirable services, managers must strive to understand how their services affect the stress levels of their customers.

Inside the Kraft Foods Transformation

Introduced by Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Eleven of the top leaders from the largest food and beverage company in the U.S. talk about their three-year turnaround and their campaign to reorganize for growth.

Knockoffs Come of Age

by Edward Tse, Kevin Ma, and Yu Huang — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Once associated with pirated goods, China's shan zhai companies have become competitive players, even in mature industries.

The Promise of In-market Innovation

by Alexander Kandybin, Surbhee Grover, and Nami Soejima — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0500

A new strategy recommends putting out new products in large volume and letting the marketplace -- not focus groups -- separate winners from losers.

Convincing Consumers to Spend Again

by William J. Holstein — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 06:00:00 -0500

In a brutal sales environment, retailers and manufacturers, led by the auto industry, are finding that smarter marketing -- not better products -- may be the best way to a customer's heart.

2. Consumer Products: Some Brands Win

by Richard Rawlinson — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:00:00 -0600

Major Media in the Shopping Aisle

by Matthew Egol and Christopher Vollmer — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Marketers are using digital and video technology to reach shoppers at the moment that matters most.

A Breakaway Opportunity for "Inferior" Products

by Leslie Moeller, James Ryan, and Juan Carlos Webster — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:00:00 -0500

As the difficult economy causes consumers to trade down in their purchases, companies need to adjust their offerings to their customers' new behavior.

Tracking the Elusive Consumer

by John Jullens and Gregor Harter — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Consumer choice modeling can help companies improve their market share by offering a better understanding of consumer preferences.

The Unique Advantage

by Alexander Kandybin and Surbhee Grover — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

To succeed in a mature industry like consumer products, the trick isn't being first -- it's being hard to copy.

Survival-of-the-Fittest Innovation

by Edward Baker — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:00:00 -0500

Booz & Company Partner Alexander Kandybin on why consumer products companies should look to the power of natural selection to break out of the incremental innovation trap.

New Life for Tired Brands

by Nikhil Bahadur and John Jullens — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

How to discover the dormant vitality in an old product line.

The Situational Leader

by Matthew Prewitt — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Jack Stahl, a former chief executive at Coca-Cola and Revlon, discusses how great leaders balance their broad strategic missions with constant attention to organizational detail.

Rebuilding Lego, Brick by Brick

by Keith Oliver, Edouard Samakh, and Peter Heckmann — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

How a supply chain transformation helped put the beloved toymaker back together again.

Who Is Your Next Customer?

by Jairo Senise — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Strategies for targeting potential consumers in foreign markets.

Partners at the Point of Sale

by Rich Kauffeld, Johan Sauer, and Sara Bergson — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

With "shelf-centered collaboration," manufacturers and retailers can finally put the right product on the right shelf at the right time for the right consumer.

Big Impact in a Small Format

by Thomas Ripsam, Alonso Martinez, and Carlos Navarro — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Large retailers are beginning to see the beauty of a tinier world.

Making the Most of Customers

by Erich Joachimsthaler — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The most innovative companies see consumers for who they really are.

An Industry for All Seasons

by Doug Hardman, Simon Harper, and Ashok Notaney — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0600

What the apparel industry has gained in scale and scope over the past few decades it has lost in agility and speed. A new kind of product segmentation keeps painful trade-offs to a minimum.

Seven Counterintuitive Trends

by Dan Lewis — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Everyone expects turbulence, but few people are watching the most significant pressures that will confront industry this year.

A 21st-Century Approach to Product Launches

by Steve Silver and Jong Chow — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Forget the old rules for bringing products to market. Procter & Gamble is helping to write a new playbook.

How to Slim Down a Brand Portfolio

by Nikhil Bahadur, Edward Landry, and Steven Treppo — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0500

The objective is not merely to divest brands, but to achieve higher rates of growth for the brands that remain.

The Case for Long Shots

by J. Baldwin — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0500

The world's most popular camping tent was once a hard sell to retailers, but it ultimately demonstrated the value of an innovative gamble.

The Future of Advertising Is Now

by Christopher Vollmer, John Frelinghuysen, and Randall Rothenberg — Tue, 30 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Marketers take heed: After years of overhype, the digital revolution is finally mainstream.

Dueling Technologies at the Point of Sale

by Olaf Acker, Niklas Dieterich, and Christopher Schmitz — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Paying with a mobile phone is big business in Japan and Korea, but hasn't yet caught on in the United States.

The Hidden Costs of Clicks

by Tim Laseter, Elliot Rabinovich, and Angela Huang — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Internet retailers are finally learning why books and luggage make money online -- while shoes and toys don't.

Pay Attention to Revenue Growth. But How?

by Paul Leinwand, John Loehr, and Kolinjuwa Shriram — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Identify the growth rate for any given portfolio of businesses, and measure how your company stacks up.

Virtual Scale: Alliances for Leverage

by Doug Hardman, David Messinger, and Sara Bergson — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Smaller companies can compete with industry giants by pooling resources with carefully chosen partners.