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I am a highly successful pricing professional, with expertise in pricing, buying and…
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Collin Kinning posted thisI find myself more and more lately of being appreciative of those that do things for me even if it's just part of their daily job. If they are kind and friendly more than the regular forced hi/bye I'll take that few extra seconds to say thank you and mean it. Those that treat me with a lack of respect I'll be nice to but at a generic level. I'm not saying I'll name a child after them, but I say thank you to one degree or another as all jobs are important enough to exist. To me it doesn't matter what role their position serves, they still deserve respect to one degree or another. I realize some people reading this may think I'm a bit off kilter thinking this, but we live in a such a crazy speed driven world that we often overlook each other and forget we all started at the place as an annoying crying baby.
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Collin Kinning posted thisAluminum and glass can be recycled indefinitely, would you be in favor of a carbonated national bottle deposit especially considering it success in states that have one?
Collin Kinning replied to a comment
6mo
Adnan Ashraf I'd also add that simple price multiples are key part of the psychology because if people have to think of the actual price; 3/$5 vs 2/$4, then they can get frustrated and consider alternatives. Frustrating a buyer can ruin their entire experience.
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Collin Kinning liked thisCollin Kinning liked thisKroger just spent $1.65 billion on Giant Eagle and somehow nobody saw it coming. Remember when the FTC blocked their Albertsons merger last year? Everyone wrote them off. Said they were done with acquisitions. Then new CEO Greg Foran quietly scooped up 197 supermarkets across five states. Here's the crazy part. Giant Eagle has been family-owned since 1931. That's 93 years of customer loyalty and brand equity. You can't build that overnight. You have to buy it. But this deal is smarter than the Albertsons mess. Way smarter. Kroger has literally zero stores in Pennsylvania, where most Giant Eagle locations are. Almost no overlap means the FTC can't really block it on antitrust grounds. They might force a sale of maybe 5-9 stores in Columbus where both chains exist, and that's probably it. Meanwhile Aldi is dropping $9 billion to hit 4,000 U.S. locations. Walmart keeps stealing market share from everyone. The grocery business is getting brutal. Kroger needed scale fast and they found a backdoor nobody was paying attention to. The deal closes in 2027. By then, the entire landscape will be different. What's wild to me is how quickly Giant Eagle's family decided to sell after holding on for nearly a century. That tells you everything about where they think this industry is headed.
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Collin Kinning liked thisCollin Kinning liked thisOne of the craziest things people say to us is, “Why don’t you just put your products in more stores?” People genuinely think brands can just call Target and ask to be put on the shelf. That’s like asking someone, “Why don’t you just put on a Lakers jersey and play in the NBA?” If I walked into an NBA arena, put on a Lakers uniform and ran onto the court, security would immediately tackle me, drag me out of the arena, and probably take me to jail. You can’t just decide you’re in the NBA. You have to spend years proving yourself in high school, college and professional leagues before anyone gives you that opportunity. The grocery industry works the exact same way. If I walked into Target, Food Lion, or Hy-Vee and started putting Goode Foods products on the shelves myself, security would come remove me too. You can’t just “put” your products into stores. There is no fast-track program. There is no shortcut. Goode Foods had to prove success in thousands of stores over more than two decades before we ever got meetings with retailers like Target, Food Lion and Hy-Vee. It’s like acting. You can’t just decide you’re going to star in a Martin Scorsese film tomorrow. You have to build a track record, prove yourself and compete against thousands of other actors trying to do the exact same thing. The grocery industry is one of the most competitive industries in America. The margins are razor thin, a handful of publicly traded companies own most of the brands and breaking in is incredibly difficult. It’s an elite, exclusive club. We make it look easy, which is probably why people think it is. But trust me: nobody is just walking into stores and putting products on shelves. It’s a process that takes years of proven success, relentless persistence and opportunities you’ve spent a lifetime earning.
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Collin Kinning liked thisCollin Kinning liked thisKroger acquired Giant Eagle for $1.65 billion adding 197 supermarkets and 11 pharmacies across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. CEO Greg Foran praised the chain as "well-run" and "high-quality" while citing expansion into adjacent markets. The deal reflects broader consolidation in food retail amid inflation pressures. Kroger buying 197-store regional chain after failed Albertsons merger proves the company is consolidating market through smaller acquisitions antitrust scrutiny blocks from competitor. Your business needs to understand that Kroger pursuing Giant Eagle after the Federal Trade Commission blocked Albertsons merger reveals the company's consolidation strategy continues through different structure. Instead of massive competitor merger drawing antitrust focus, Kroger acquires smaller regional chains with lower regulatory scrutiny. The "well-run" and "high-quality" praise masks that Kroger wouldn't pay $1.65 billion for excellent independent operation. The company is buying Giant Eagle's scale and market position to eliminate competitor while consolidating supply chain and reducing duplicate costs. -) $1.65B acquisition price -) 197 supermarkets, 11 pharmacies -) Five-state footprint -) Called "well-run" and "high-quality" -) Expands into adjacent markets Kroger's strategy of acquiring smaller chains circumvents antitrust review that would block direct competitor acquisition. By taking regional players one at a time, the company consolidates market share and supply chain leverage while appearing less threatening than attempting massive mergers. Acknowledge when acquisition strategies shift to address regulatory barriers versus change fundamental consolidation goals. Calculate whether multiple smaller acquisitions achieve same consolidation as single blocked merger. Recognize that distributed acquisition campaigns often escape antitrust scrutiny blocking direct competitor transactions. Does your grocery consolidation strategy pursue direct competitor acquisition antitrust blocks or use multiple smaller acquisitions to achieve consolidation while navigating regulatory constraints?
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Collin Kinning liked thisCollin Kinning liked thisHola people! Every menu has a liar on it. Not because you’re dishonest. Because one item isn’t there to sell. It’s there to make everything else look like a bargain. Most operators price every menu item independently. That’s a mistake. Customers don’t judge prices in isolation. They compare. Behavioral economists call this anchoring. Your brain has no idea if a gourmet burger is “worth” $14. So it immediately starts looking for comparisons. If the menu has: * Burger — $14 * Burger Combo — $18 * Premium Wagyu Burger — $24 Something interesting happens. Very few people buy the $24 burger. But suddenly… The $18 combo feels like a deal. Nothing changed about the combo. Only the comparison changed. This happens everywhere. Movie theaters don’t expect everyone to buy the largest popcorn. Luxury car dealers don’t expect everyone to buy the highest trim level. Steakhouses don’t expect everyone to order the tomahawk. Those items exist because they change how the rest of the menu feels. The most profitable menu isn’t always the cheapest. It’s the one that makes customers comfortable spending more. Here’s where food truck operators accidentally lose money. They remove premium options because: “Nobody orders them.” But that premium item may be increasing sales of everything beneath it. It isn’t just a product. It’s a pricing tool. That doesn’t mean invent ridiculous menu items. It means intentionally creating a premium anchor that reinforces the value of your core offerings. Because customers rarely know what something should cost. They know what it costs compared to something else. That’s why menu engineering is one of the highest-ROI skills in this business. You’re not just designing food. You’re designing decisions. Takeaway * Create a premium anchor item. * Let your best-selling item sit in the middle. * Use comparison to increase perceived value. * Design prices as a system—not individually. Because customers don’t buy based on price. They buy based on context. Click the link, we teach this.
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Collin Kinning liked thisCollin Kinning liked thisIf your customer says this to you, one of three things have happened: 👉 You didn't ask enough questions, so you weren't able to demonstrate your value (and thus justify the higher price). 👉 The competition came in after you, and undercut you (and since you didn't demonstrate value, this tactic worked) 👉 You really ARE more expensive, and the customer doesn't need all your bells and whistles. Cheaper isn't always better. One time, I did a podcast with the Director of Technology and Biomed Services at a huge hospital chain, and he said one of the biggest mistakes sales reps make is assuming they HAVE to be the cheapest to win the deal. Sometimes the value a product brings is worth the extra cost, but it's YOUR job to illustrate this to the customer. Customers understand that you get what you pay for. Ask questions. Not just any questions though. Ask the RIGHT questions and you'll be able to paint that picture for them that shows why your value is worth the extra cost. #sales #salestraining #marketing
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Collin Kinning liked thisCollin Kinning liked thisFake job postings should come with consequences. Not because they’re annoying. Because they’re costly. They cost job seekers time. They cost confidence. They cost emotional energy. They cost opportunities to pursue real openings. While companies lose nothing by posting a role they’re not filling, applicants invest hours researching, applying, interviewing, and waiting. The hiring process should be built on transparency not false hope. If a position isn’t open, it shouldn’t be advertised as one. Job seekers deserve honesty. Not ghost jobs. Not resume collection campaigns. Not misleading metrics. People’s livelihoods are not marketing tools. That conversation is long overdue. Melissa Grabiner
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Collin Kinning liked thisCollin Kinning liked thisShould the pricing profession create its own President's Club? Is there another function that impacts profitability as much as Pricing yet receives less recognition? If not, how do we change that as a profession?
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Collin Kinning liked thisCollin Kinning liked thisPricing is one of the few functions that has to influence almost every part of the business. Sales. Marketing. Product. Finance. Operations. Leadership. Yet many pricing teams are surprisingly small. Some days it can feel like the smallest team is carrying one of the biggest responsibilities. You're expected to influence millions, and sometimes billions, in revenue, margin, and profit with a fraction of the resources available to other functions. The size of the responsibility compared to the size of the team has always fascinated me. Do you ever feel this way, or is this just part of the job?
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Education
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Western Michigan University
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Activities and Societies: Sigma Phi Omega--Food Marketing Fraternity
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