Pricing is everything

Not everyone can wave a magic wand and confidently raise prices the way ČEZ and other energy and water oligopolists have. Mere mortals must be careful to set prices right as consumer spending falls and Czechs become Scrooges all year round. Škoda Auto might never recover financially and image- wise from its mistake of charging more at home than in Germany and then admitting in ads that it had been gouging Czechs. Banks that were giving away the store a few months ago are now going to the other extreme and demanding that a borrower hand over his first child. Just as advertising spending falls, the antitrust office is looking into price hikes of 15-28% at the main televisions stations. Even Coffee Heaven marked up its lattes, apparently failing to see the limits of the Starbucks miracle. Every business has its own pricing model. What worked before might not work anymore. [Czech Republic RWE Trangas E.ON automobiles crisis]