“Recession is as recession does,”
This was the reported response (according to About.com:Retail Industry) from the fictitious Forrest Gump Worldwide Management Consortium to an October 2008 AlixPartners survey of consumers on the prospects of a recession:
- 86% believed the U.S. was in a recession or depression.
- 64% said they would spend less in retail stores to prepare for the hard economic times
- 46% predicted hard times would last three years.
The point of the article is that consumer response to recessionary news determines the level of recession at retail. More important, the response by retailers determines how well they do. The article cites cases during previous recessions where companies and brands such as Chrysler, Ivory Soap, Kellogg’s, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell successfully introduced new strategies that brought them greater market share both during and post recession. Time and again history has shown that retailers that respond with aggressive marketing of innovative strategies come through and out of troubled times better than those who do not.
Filed under: Change, Competition, Consumers, Leadership, Marketing | Tagged: About.com, AlixPartners, Chrysler, cost savings, Ivory Soap, Kellogg's, long term value, margin, market, market share, Pizza Hut, recession, retail industry, strategy, Taco Bell, Toyota | Leave a comment »
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