Posts Tagged ‘demand’

Supply and Demand is…

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

Supply and demand is an economic model that determines prices in a competitive market. Generally speaking, supply refers to how much is available for sale, and demand refers to how much consumers want it. The selling price represents where supply and demand meet.

Demand For 3D Projectors Stifled By Lack Of Supply

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

As consumer demand for digital projectors skyrockets, the industry may not be able to supply quickly enough.

  • Privately owned makers of projector components have struggled to keep up with the soaring demand.
  • Despite the inability to match supply with demand, digital projector purveyor Barco doubled its projector sales in 2009 – its best year to date.
  • Barco considers additional funding of component makers as a potential option for solving this supply crisis, and may even use a secondary supplier to meet its component needs.

Facts & Figures

  • 85% of the world’s cinemas have yet to be fitted with digital projectors.
  • Barco thinks it could make nearly 150 million euros ($203.6 million) in 2010.
  • Barco shipped around 1,000 projectors in the fourth quarter of 2009, worth around 36 million euros.

Best Quote

“The challenge will not be how many you can sell, it will be how many you can make.” – Eric Van Zele, CEO of Barco

Spend Money, Be An Activist?

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

You can affect change in all sorts of ways. But lately, people are using their wallets to make their voices heard.

  • In larger numbers than ever before, consumers are considering the environmental and social aspects of the things they buy – not just the price.
  • Consumer demand has been driving a transformation by traditional companies to become more sustainable, and often more profitable, in the way their operate their businesses.
  • Even though much progress has been made, transparent and authentic sustainable business practices are still not the norm. Increasingly vocal demand by consumers for sustainable products will continue to drive this “revolution” into all areas of business.

Facts & Figures

  • In a TIME poll, 40% of people reported buying a product because of its social or environmental benefits.
  • Socially responsible investment (SRI) funds have increased in number from 55 in 1995 to 260 today – they manage 11% of all money invested in US markets.
  • In 2007, a Goldman Sachs report found that companies that emphasized sustainability would outperform the financial market.

Best Quote

“We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals, we know now that it is bad economics.” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt

A Seller’s Market is…

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

A seller’s market is a situation in which demand for a good or service is greater than the available supply, so the seller has more power to dictate the terms of sale, including price. Let’s say everyone in New York City wants to buy an orange (gotta get that Vitamin C), but only a few stores actually sell oranges. Those stores that do sell oranges are able to hike up the sale price because people who want to buy oranges have nowhere else to go to get their fix. This is a seller’s market because the stores can sell the oranges for whatever price they want, and people will still buy them.

Changing Bathroom Routines Abroad – A Sign Of Development?

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Economic development affects quality of life in a truly tangible way – here are some fun facts to impress your friends.

  • Toilet paper did not become a staple in American homes until the popularization of indoor plumbing in the early 1900′s, when industrialization brought modern infrastructure to most of the country. Today, it would be hard to imagine living without toilet paper.
  • Because of rising standards of living and the availability of disposable income that has come with economic development, the use of toilet paper is quickly growing in emerging markets.
  • As energy and other production costs rise and people become more concerned with the environmental cost of producing toilet paper, the price you pay per roll is increasing. However, Americans don’t seem to be buying any less toilet paper, and it’s doubtful they will any time soon.

Facts & Figures

  • The United States spends over $6 billion dollars on toilet paper a year.
  • Toilet paper revenues have doubled in Brazil since 2004.
  • The average American uses 57 squares of toilet paper a day, which translates into 50 pounds a year!

Best Quote

“The spread of globalization can kind of be measured by the spread of Western bathroom practices.” – David Praeger, Author of Poop Culture: How America Is Shaped by Its Grossest National Product

Demand is…

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Demand refers to how much of an item or service people are willing to buy for any given price. Basically, the demand for any particular thing is a measure of how much people want it.