I had an email yesterday telling me that the Apple One subscription was going up for the second time in twelve months.
It no longer represents good value for me and I can save nearly £100 a year by cancelling and subscribing to the important parts that I use most.
Apple are not alone in increasing prices (in a cost of living crisis) to the point they no longer represent fair value. What is it with companies that they lack basic business smarts?
So… ESG investors are in control now and they don’t want to see companies charging too much.
…
I realize maybe I should verify: which planet are we talking about? I’ve been talking about planet Earth.
If you are as well, you either have more business smarts than the most valued company in the world or… less.
I didn’t say they don’t want to see companies charge too much. Fair Value is not about the price but the value you get for that price.
I’m talking this planet. Just look for ESG funds and ESG compliant companies. They are valued at over 53 trillion dollars according to the UN.
ESG reporting is now mandatory and a part of accounting standards in the US, UK and the majority of countries.
Incidentally, try investor.apple.com/esg/default.aspx
You’ll find Apples reports back to 2021.
Well I definitely think you’re overestimating this influence. And I think the other issue here is that you are conflating the price point that you personally are willing to pay with Fair Value. If you want to show some kind of analysis of what you think fair pricing should be, great, but this post is just “I cancelled my subscription” and you’re claiming that your decision has all the force of global investor trends behind it.
No, I was responding to your old fashioned views about pricing. Do you see the difference between fair pricing that you mention and fair value ?
The whole point with Fair Value is that the consumer has control. It’s not about fair pricing. It’s about what you get for that price being fair value.
Nowadays a company needs to define its target market and ensure that target market gets fair value. A product can have any price as long as its target market thinks it’s fair value.
We’ve seen some companies innovate and open up new markets that haven’t been served before. For example social tariffs that attract consumers who wouldn’t normally subscribe.
It’s not just me saying this. Many commentators and analysts have pointed out that some companies (not just Apple) are taking a rather basic approach and actually removing value. The whole idea with Apple one was to add value but now that seems to be changing. They are retreating to what they know, put up prices without using their business acumen to increase value.