The 30,000 Foot View

Here's a "Class Of" Report for a Brand I studied ... it's for the total brand, looking at a high level ... 30,000 feet high. And yet, the stories begin to speak to us. Click on the image to make it bigger.

The top portion of the table shows us what top-line demand looks like by annual merchandise class. This brand is contracting ... from $54.6 million to $56.8 million three years ago ... then problems begin, down to $55.0 million, then $54.2 million, then $52.8 million. This is the point where people usually decide to hire me (you might be in that boat ... here's project pricing as an FYI ... so you know, your problems are usually merchandise-related, not marketing-related).

I include units sold, because it is common for the old adage "units = customers" to appear in these projects. Units sold are in decline as well, so let's page down to the bottom portion of the table, where I evaluate price per item sold by merchandise class. Here we go.

• 49 - 60 Months Ago = $46.15 per item.
• 37 - 48 Months Ago = $46.57 per item.
• 25 - 36 Months Ago = $49.43 per item.
• 13 - 24 Months Ago = $50.66 per item.
• 00 - 12 Months Ago = $51.89 per item.

Yeah, the brand is walking prices up higher and higher. If demand is down and prices are higher, it means that units sold are down even more (which means customer counts are down even more - but that is a topic for another day).

Let's look at the average price of a new item by merchandise class.

• 37 - 48 Months Ago = $48.05 per item.
• 25 - 36 Months Ago = $47.60 per item.
• 13 - 24 Months Ago = $53.56 per item.
• 00 - 12 Months Ago = $50.50 per item.

Ew. Results are all over the board, aren't they? This tells me there are myriad stories to be told at a category level.

Here's the average price point of an existing item by year.

• 37 - 48 Months Ago = $46.57 per item.
• 25 - 36 Months Ago = $49.43 per item.
• 13 - 24 Months Ago = $50.66 per item.
• 00 - 12 Months Ago = $51.89 per item.

Existing products being sold are more expensive over time. It suggests that the brand is either raising prices or are discontinuing older items that are cheaper.

At 30,000 feet, there is a problem, but we're too far away from the problem. We need to drill down a bit. We'll do that tomorrow ... and Wednesday I'll publish another video for those of you who enjoyed that style of diversion from your daily routine.