The podcast discusses the shift companies are making from 'price over volume' to maintaining prices and preserving margins. Layoffs and their impact on profit margins are explored, along with the power of advertising in gaining a competitive edge. The strategy of tolerating market share loss for higher prices is discussed, as well as the macro context of price increases and revenue. The conversation concludes with a promotion for a podcast about the history of Osage County and wealth acquisition.
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Quick takeaways
Consumer packaged goods companies are shifting their focus to rebuilding volumes rather than further raising prices.
Companies that successfully raised prices are now investing in advertising to drive volume increases and compete for market share.
Deep dives
Companies prioritize boosting profit margins through layoffs
While earnings reports highlight a significant number of layoffs, the overall jobs picture remains relatively stable. Layoffs receive attention and make headlines, but the situation is not as dire as it seems. The layoffs that are happening now are not as severe as those seen in 2020. Tech companies have used software models to expand profit margins, while consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies face challenges. Cutting workers in CPG may impact their ability to do business and compete. The focus for CPG companies is on rebuilding volumes rather than further raising prices. Companies like Kroger leverage AI models to mine consumer data and gain a competitive edge.
Companies redirect gross margin dollars into advertising and marketing
Consumer packaged goods companies, such as Unilever and Kimberly Clark, shift their gross margin dollars toward advertising and marketing efforts. This strategy aims to bring back volumes and compete for market share. Companies that successfully raised prices are now investing in advertising to drive volume increases. The investment in ad spending to boost volumes benefits major platforms like Meta (formerly Facebook) and Amazon. These platforms gain AI modeling opportunities and significant upticks in ad spending as companies compete for market share.
AI implementation and data collection drive business strategies
AI is a prominent topic in corporate discussions, with some companies genuinely leveraging the technology while others use it as a distraction. Companies like UPS use AI as a response to market challenges, such as competition from Amazon. However, there are companies sitting on valuable data sets that, when combined with AI models, provide significant advantages. Industry sectors like insurance could benefit from leveraging AI to assess behavior and enhance pricing strategies. Moreover, data-rich companies, such as Kroger, can tap into their consumer data to drive targeted marketing efforts and improve business operations.
Last year, Corbu managing director Samuel Rines came on Odd Lotsto discuss what exactly companies were saying about why they were raising prices. His argument was that in the post-pandemic environment, with all its associated peculiarities and one-off disruptions, businesses were pursuing a strategy of "price over volume" (POV) to boost their profit margins. Since then, the idea of corporate profits contributing to inflation has gone viral, with the Biden administration repeatedly admonishing companies for price-gouging. In this episode of Lots More, we discuss the latest earnings season and what it's telling us about prices right now. Rines argues that the POV strategy is petering out in favor of companies maintaining prices and preserving margins ("Price and Margin") and even beginning to boost their volumes. We also talk about recent job cuts and layoff announcements.