It’s a common assumption that offering more features or developing high-quality products and services is expensive, and that the products of these labors can command premiums. The higher the premium, the more consumers are likely to associate quality with the offering. But it’s this set of beliefs that explains why Western companies fail to succeed in emerging markets where middle class consumers demand good quality at low prices, and why these companies struggle to develop value-for-money products for their home markets during slow growth times like these.