Pricing Power: What does it Look Like?
Posted 14 January 2011, 15:22 in Business Leave a Comment
Apple clearly enjoys much stronger pricing power than its competitors. In fact, it looks like Apple is able to keep prices steady, or even raise them while its competitors race each other to the lowest price and fight among themselves for the profits that Apple hasn’t already wrung out of the market.
Found an interesting article about Apple and how it has held onto its pricing power with consumers. In all the years that I have been following Apple, Apple products has always been regarded as being more on the higher, more expensive end.
Related Articles: Pricing Power: What does it look like?
A sit down with Warren Buffett
Posted 7 March 2008, 15:57 in Personal Finance Business 1 Comment
If you did not know this by now, Warren Buffett is the world’s richest man alive, according to Forbes. At 77, he is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company that owns the gecko at Geico, the fruits at Fruit of the Loom, and all the lactose at Dairy Queen. Buffett’s wealth came in the form of great investments into public companies such as American Express, Coca-Cola, and Gillette. He is admired by many, which is why 25 thousand investors make their way to Omaha, Nebraska to attend Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting.
A few lucky business students were invited to meet the man himself in a Q&A session (the entire Q&A session is linked below under related links). Below are some tidbits that I found interesting…
Why do you think that despite making your methods publicly available, that relatively few people have been able to emulate your success?People want to make money fast, but it doesn’t happen that way. Graham’s philosophy doesn’t promise enough for many people. You don’t know when it will happen, but you just wait for the fat pitches within your circle of competence. It’s not as exciting as guessing whether the stock price will go up the next day. Most investors in internet companies didn’t know the market cap. They were buying because they thought the stock would move, but if you asked them to write “I would buy XYZ company for $6 billion because”, they wouldn’t get halfway through the sentence. It’s the classic tortoise versus hare, bound to work over time. Charlie and I have educated competitors. Most don’t compete with us, though. It’s fine, we have more than enough money.
Given your business success, your immense fortune, and your celebrity status, how do you stay so down to earth and humble? Are there specific people or lessons you have learned throughout your life that enable you to maintain this outlook?I was lucky to have the right heroes. Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be. One of your most important jobs in life will be raising your children. They will learn more from you than they will in graduate school. My father was a huge influence, and later on Graham came along. I was also never let down by my heroes.
What importance do you give to balance as it pertains to work and life and what do you do to maintain your appropriate balance?I have so much fun that it’s not work. In my own life I did virtually no social functions or meetings that I didn’t want to do. In my adult business life I have never had to make a choice of trading between professional and personal. I have simple pleasures. I play bridge online for 12 hours a week. Bill [Gates] and I play, he’s “chalengr” and I’m “tbone.”
There you have it: there is no such thing as quick money in the stock market, find the right heroes in life, and find a job that you enjoy so much that it does not become “work.”
Related Links: Notes from Buffett Meeting | About Warren Buffett | Berkshire Hathaway
Related Articles: Gates No Longer World’s Richest Man
Netflix in Hawaii
Posted 30 January 2008, 20:53 in Business Leave a Comment
If you ever wondered why you have to pay state taxes on your Netflix (NFLX) subscription, this is why. Honolulu Advertiser recently ran a feature on Netflix’s distribution center in Hawaii as a result of growing competition from Blockbuster (they too will be opening a local distribution center).
To my surprise, their distribution center is less than a ten minute drive from my place. I am always surprised to receive a Netflix notification email saying they received my DVD at 6 a.m. As it turns out, Netflix employees start their day very, very early.
A typical workday in Halawa begins at 3 a.m. when an employee in an unmarked white van picks up the day’s load of DVDs from the U.S. Postal Service.
There are roughly 20,000 Netflix subscribers in Hawaii. About 12,000 DVDs are mailed out daily by its 10 employees in Honolulu. Perks of being a Netflix employee: free DVD player and Netflix subscription. What about the popcorn?
Related Articles: Blockbuster moves in on Netflix turf | Netflix shows off top secret distribution center
