I have noticed, and I know you have too, that prices are going up. And you may have noticed some rather surprising news about corporate profits – they’re going up too - to record levels!
Here are some recent headlines to illustrate the point:
- BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total Energies raked in a record $199.3 billion in profits in 2022, benefiting from the surge in oil and gas prices. – CNN
- US Corporate Profits Soar With Margins at Widest Since 1950 - Bloomberg
- Corporations are booking record profits. Is it thanks to price gouging? – NPR
- Firms raised prices during 2021 in anticipation of future cost pressures, contributing substantially to inflation. – KansasCityFed.com
Paul Donovan, Chief Economist Of Global Wealth Management for UBS Group, a multinational investment bank and financial services company, made is crystal clear in a recent analysis:
- Quarterly profits have surged by more than 80 percent over the last two years, from around $1.2 trillion to more than $2 trillion, adding weight to arguments that the private sector is driving inflation by exploiting consumer expectations to keep prices elevated.
- According to Donovan, “Companies have passed higher costs on to customers. But they have also taken advantage of circumstances to expand profit margins. The broadening of inflation beyond commodity prices is more profit margin expansion than wage cost pressures,” he wrote, adding that “resilience in demand has given companies the confidence to raise prices faster than costs.”
The only reason we are still in business 25 years after introducing the world’s first commercially made weighted blanket is for one simple reason: We have loyal customers who benefit from our Magic Weighted Blanket.
Our customers are our business partners. We make a product that brings calming, comfort and better sleep, naturally. In exchange, our customers give us their hard earned money to enjoy the benefits of our products. It is a two-way relationship. And two-way relationships deserve transparency.
So we are making this promise to our customers in a time of corporate greed and out sourcing of manufacturing to China and other countries: 1) we will always keep manufacturing of our weighted blankets in America, and 2) we will share with you our costs and the profit margins we make on every blanket sold.
We are doing this for two reasons: 1) our customers are our partners, and as such, they deserve to see what our business costs and profits are; and 2) our customers will reward our transparency by choosing to support our Made In America family business knowing that they are helping to support and benefit from a fairly priced product that brings proven results.
So shop around and compare other weighted blanket manufacturers, and ask them to share their costs, profit margins and where their blankets are made.
And together, we can start a new movement of Cost Transparency for all products and services. In the end, it will be a victory for the consumer - and maybe a restraint against corporate greed.
Would love to hear your thoughts: keith@magicweightedblanket.com or 877-711-2020.