Clearly, the recession has affected everyone.  Consumers who may be out of work – or afraid they’ll soon find themselves out of work – continue to cut back on spending; which directly affects retailers and their ability to remain in business.  They may have the money to spend, but the purse strings are still tied tight.  We are climbing our way out, but the recession cloud still shades the economy.

Commodity retailers aren’t feeling the pinch as much as retailers of higher-priced, considered purchases such as automobiles and luxury appliances.  These retailers face an uphill climb as the battle for the almighty dollar persists, and consumers continue to settle for less expensive options versus status.  Some retail brands saw the writing on the wall more than a year ago and made the decision to develop what we’ll call a “2^nd tier” product line (fewer bells and whistles and less expensive) that could be marketed to a wider range of consumers – AKA lower household income.  The trick here is to develop this new product line and market it to the masses without losing your brand cache and, ultimately, the consumers who’ve been willing to pay top dollar for that cache.  BMW has done this successfully with its 1-Series, launched in March of 2008.  They’ve managed to capture a younger, less affluent audience while still maintaining their core, wealthy consumer.

In the luxury appliance category, Dacor has done this successfully with the launch of its Distinctive™ Series – a new, more affordable line of appliances that offers fewer high-end features while maintaining the core style and innovation for which Dacor is so well known.  The Distinctive Series includes a Range and Rangetop, Single and Double Wall Ovens, a Dishwasher and a Cooktop.  The new line launched at the beginning of 2009 and is currently being sold through Dacor’s traditional, independent retailers as well as Sears.  The partnership with Sears is a first for Dacor.  And what better way to reach the masses with a premium appliance line than through a partnership with the leading mass merchant in the country. The bonus is that while only the Distinctive Series is on display at Sears stores, consumers have access to all Dacor appliances through the retailer.  As a result, Dacor has seen significant revenue through Sears from both its Distinctive and its non-Distinctive, higher-end appliances.

To sum it up…Dacor did it right.  The company did not choose to simply slash prices or offer deep discounts in an attempt to win the battle against its luxury appliance competitors.  We know – again by watching the car industry – that this strategy does not work.  Instead, Dacor did its due diligence and spent the R&D money to develop a line of appliances that would appeal – in performance, style and cost – to a new group of consumers.  Bravo, Dacor.  Nicely played.

Domus is an innovative marketing communications firm that incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and classic marketing principles into effective marketing campaigns. For more information visit us at Domus, Inc. and Domus Digital.

It’s no longer news. The down economy has put extreme pressures on small businesses across all industries from technology to service to retail over the past two years. While many businesses have not survived the economic downturn, those that have survived have only managed to do so by cutting costs dramatically – reducing wages and laying off staffers.

The entire country is concerned about the future of small businesses because of how vital they are to our country’s economic health. And despite continued attempts to revive the economy, small businesses continue to struggle with meeting their revenue goals.

What these businesses, such as retailers for instance, also need are solutions that will increase their revenue immediately, not just put more cash in their pocket that they will ultimately have to repay in the future.

One solution for them to consider: lottery sales.

Retailers earn commissions, risk free, off the sales of lottery tickets. On average, in the state of Pennsylvania, lottery retailers sell more than $375,000 each year and earn nearly $20,000 a year per location in commissions. And studies shows that 80 percent of lottery players buy an additional item when making their lottery purchase, so sales across the board increase when retailers sell lottery tickets.

It’s a simple solution to increasing revenue.

Domus is a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.