Any organisation that can create a barrier to entry which prevents new competitors entering the market can, in theory, keep prices high. Economies of scale (think Airbus or Boeing), branding (think Apple) and distribution channels (think Coke) are all excellent examples of barriers to entry but one of the toughest barriers to break through are [...]

Companies often offer incentives to encourage people to sign up for their products or services. BOGOF is a term that’s well known in marketing circles. It stands for “Buy One Get One Free” and as the phrase implies it is a sales promotion encouraging people to buy a product or service. If they pay for [...]

What price should you charge for your products? As any professional business qualification student knows, there are several different pricing strategies that can be used when setting the price for your product. You could for example base it on the internal factors of how much it costs you to produce (cost plus pricing) or you [...]

Sometimes it’s difficult to get a feel for economics and the concepts and amounts involved. A friend sent me an email that’s doing the rounds on the internet and it emphasises rather nicely the issues behind the financial problems that the US currently faces. It moves away from “grown up economic terms” to instead use [...]

Here’s a good question – what is about 20% of your height and could help a number of fashion companies to increase their sales by a significant amount? The answer is a “mini-me”. Top fashion brands such as Burberry, Barbour jackets and Ugg boots have all seen increases in sales of certain items of clothing [...]

Marriage – that traditional bond between man and woman where they share their journey through life. Joining in together with the good times and the bad times but above all being a symbol of ultimate love between a man and a woman. That’s all very nice but forget about all that romantic stuff, if you’re [...]

Running a successful restaurant is tough. Whilst a good restaurant can me it look easy, there are a lot of things you need to get exactly right to be successful. Everything from the ingredients, the menu, the chef, the ambiance and the waiting staff have to be just right. Plus don’t forget that it’s a [...]

Floods earlier this year caused significant damage to major cotton crops around the world. A knock on effect of this is there is now a shortage of cotton and as a result cotton prices are currently at record highs. “Cheap Chic” is a business model adopted by various clothing companies where, as the name suggests, [...]

One of the ways that governments around the world have tried to kick start the economy during the recent recession has been through the reduction of interest rates. 10 years ago the Bank of England base rate was 11.38%. Today, the current rate is 0.5%. If individuals have variable rate loans or mortgages on their [...]

Land Rover and Jaguar cars are classic British cars but their fortunes have really changed over the last couple of years. This turnaround has arguably been due to “Globalisation”. Land Rover was established in the UK in 1948 and manufactures the famous 4×4 off-road vehicles including the Range Rover whilst the first Jaguar cars came [...]