It’s been a tough year for consumer and technology companies this year. Rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis have put many consumer companies under severe pressure while rising interest rates have led to a significant decline in corporate valuations particularly in technology and other growth sectors.
Good piece. This seems to be a sustained alpha theme, which is some what surprising as it’s widely understood. One possible explanation is it’s boring - buy good brands and hold, trade little. Another is that these companies consistently have conservative guidance, and analysts want to stay close to consensus ?
The power of the brand was something Jean-Jacques Guiony (CFO of LVHM) discussed in the company’s recent earnings call:
“The reality is that pricing power is actually a function of the desirability of the brand. Desirable brands can increase prices and non-desirable brands cannot. It’s as simple as that. So what it is about is really developing strategies, marketing, products, distribution strategies that will increase desirability of the brand, so that in tough times or in other times, we can reflect into prices the cost of doing business. It’s as simple as that.”
All of LVHM segments grew by double digits this past quarter. Desirability means pricing power.
Good piece. This seems to be a sustained alpha theme, which is some what surprising as it’s widely understood. One possible explanation is it’s boring - buy good brands and hold, trade little. Another is that these companies consistently have conservative guidance, and analysts want to stay close to consensus ?
Thanks, Joachim.
Here‘s a fund that is run by someone I know: https://brandcapitalfund.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Factsheet-BCF_30Sep2022_CACEIS.pdf
Good article, Joachim.
The power of the brand was something Jean-Jacques Guiony (CFO of LVHM) discussed in the company’s recent earnings call:
“The reality is that pricing power is actually a function of the desirability of the brand. Desirable brands can increase prices and non-desirable brands cannot. It’s as simple as that. So what it is about is really developing strategies, marketing, products, distribution strategies that will increase desirability of the brand, so that in tough times or in other times, we can reflect into prices the cost of doing business. It’s as simple as that.”
All of LVHM segments grew by double digits this past quarter. Desirability means pricing power.