Matthew E. Rubel, Senior Advisor at private equity firm TPG Capital, and former Chairman and CEO of Collective Brands and Cole Haan, shares his perspectives on the topic of pricing in retail.

“The tools available today for pricing have dramatically changed,” he noted. “You can actually get much more precise with the information going out to the consumer base…and decide what is the right initial price so that you can end up with optimal gross margin throughput after you mark the products down.”

Matt suggests talking to customers first to be able to choose the right initial price, which is easier to do in the digital era.

Matt was also a panelist at First Insight’s “Big Ideas” session:"Everyday Low Pricing? Promotions? Markdowns? How to Get Entry Pricing Right!" In case you missed Matt during our Big Ideas Session you can replay the panel discussion by clicking here. 

 Matthew E. Rubel
“To bring in new tools which will help you set the right price up front, so that you can arrive  at the final price with the most gross margin throughput against your competitive set, to me  is the wave of the future that we have to get on with.”
Click here to watch Matt Rubel's exclusive interview with RTP.

Mark Cohen
“There are no retailers in the world who have ever succeeded who have disregarded the behavior of customers and the presence of competition.”
Click here to watch Mark Cohen's exclusive interview with RTP.
 

Mindy Meads
“You have to know your customer, who is that customer, you really have to understand who they are and what they are looking for.”