Tuesday 22 April 2008

49 cent grapefruit

in the early 1950's there was a humble grocery store on lenox venue in haarlem, new york. it was run by a jewish immgrant, leo. he had come to america at the age of 5, from budapest. his son, calvin, showed a keen interest in the store and used to work there. he once asked his dad why some of the grapefruit were 29 cents a pound and some were 49 cents a pound. his father answered "some people like to pay 29 cents and some like to pay 49 cents"

although flippant, this is very true. pep sell jeans at 80 rand and true religion sell jeans for about 4 500 rand. some people just want to pay that much for jeans. whether the reason people pay the higher price is real or perceived is immaterial. i hazard a guess that if "49 cent" people found out there was no difference between leo's grapefruit, they would go looking for some. they want grapefruit worth 49 cents and are prepared to pay for it.

why?

a good retailer (or manufacturer) gives someone a story or a reason to believe that will justify their paying over, or even under, the odds for their product.

lindt tell a great story, and for those who don't hear it, they put 70% or 85% in huge bold letters on their packaging. this gives us reason to believe.

the stories we tell our customers have to be real, or as seth would say, authentic. we have to live them, breathe them and keep communicating them. woolworths are exceptional at telling their food story, their clothing story needs work. pick n pay have some way to go if their new story is to be believed in the lsm 8 -10 market - where they want to succeed. they are brilliant at their old story of being on the customer's side. how good is your story?

by the way, that little boy's surname was klein. boy did he ever tell a great story. he sold dresses, jackets, jeans and even fragrances for a lot more than their 29 cents equivalents.



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