as its not the name implies not necessarily

Sarah Montfort is us... as its not the name implies not necessarily. It is 38 years old and lives in a 40 km of Chicago with her husband, Rick, and their three daughters. The total income of the household, who lives a posh but not luxurious House amounts to 85,000 dollars a year. Sarah could be one of these "Desperate Housewives", staged in the trendy drama of the moment. Because, even with this comfortable income, "life is more difficult financially, materially, physically and psychologically that Sarah imagined it", writes Michael Silverstein, telling the story of this woman in his latest book (1).

Senior Vice President of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), strategy and management consultancy, he was in his previous book, "trading up", highlighted three years something expected by a few visionary entrepreneurs (as François Pinault when it invests EUR 7.2 billion in the Gucci group) that the middle classes were more attracted by the consumption of luxury goods. "But at the time, we did had not seen that on the other hand, they économisaient and, in doing so, were hunting for good business," explains the author.

Thus, when Rick spends $ 500 per month to the golf course and earned by the virus of the game, loses more often that he earns Poker, Sarah does not hesitate to cross the city by car to save a few cents on the price of a chicken. Modern woman, educated, it must contain the family's expenses to balance the budget. It also chooses the single of the year holiday destination. Still in the hunt for good business, it is sometimes fun but first surfing the Web to get an idea of the right price. Thus, when it comes out his errands, she knows what she wants.

The BCG study, which supports the demonstration of the book, reveals that the vast majority of us consumers is determined to always buy cheaper. About 12,000 people, 84 reported spend the least possible in at least five categories of products. The middle classes, "adrift" according to sociologist French Louis Chauvel (2), are launched in a vast treasure hunt. And it is a global phenomenon, says Michael Silverstein, quick to cite the case of the German Hilda Schmidt, who buys at the best price and stores its findings in the cave, one of the Japanese Masako Tanaka, active woman living again with his parents, or that the plumber to the income of 50,000 dollars a year, moving in a BMW of 27,000 dollars in leasingnever dines at restaurant, dresses in large surfaces and is a specialist of the Virgin olive oil imported from Italy!

France, it is fashionable to put into perspective the magnitude of the phenomenon, in the light of the disappointing figures for a few maxidiscomptes chains. Jean-Daniel Pick, OC & C, strategy consulting, an associate is not of them. The "value brands" these products with which consumers have felt for their money, no more or less represent 25 of the large consumer market, believes. And, according to him, 80 of brands (DGF) fit into this category. At the time, "manufacturers and signs have therefore choice to protect their legitimacy to review their positioning", explains the expert. Intermarche and Carrefour, the two marks which are the most in the latest Ipsos-Posternak-Margerit survey published by "The Point", are the distributors having made the effort on prices in recent months. And, in the United States, Wal-Mart wants to restore its image of "price cracker" to counter the successes of Dollar General ($ 9 billion of turnover with products at very low prices), Trader's Joe (a subsidiary of German giant hard-discount Aldi) where customers are incredible business, or even of Costco. "44 million households make their races from the Distributor, which works with a margin of 14 against 23 at Wal-Mart and 38 in Federated," notes Michael Silverstein, which evokes "a bottom blade".

Other figures yet, but not too! On their 3,700 billion in annual spending, American households spend 535 billion at the high-end products (a market growth of 15 in three years), but about 1,000 billion at range. A figure which should approach, according to estimates of BCG, 1,500 billion at the end of the Decade! Is the range medium whose weight is still close to 2,000 billion. On this segment, the marks must convince a consumer whose behaviours are increasingly determined by family history and common sense, says the Vice-President of the American firm. "Notified" buyer, which is not always of "difference" between such product and such other less expensive, may "pass" make a purchase and sometimes cultivates a tradition of "efficient". Thus, writes Michael Silverstein, "many companies, whose success was based on an offer of average prices products targeting a mass customer, discover suddenly that the danger is at the centre". Reclaiming the "hearts of market" or "Pact with the enemy" (by producing to the discounters), these are the two avenues to be explored by the manufacturers, recommends the OC & C cabinet. The price of a radical overhaul of the models, because the period of hunting at the low price is not close to being closed.