another side to this may be where the products are manufactured and how local companies suddenly went global. My wife is in retail, the company was based in NZ and had stores only in NZ and OZ. They listed on the stock exchange two years ago, began opening stores all over the world and outsourced the manufacturing to an Asian country. Lots of surf labels did the same, and now they have closed seven of the stores, cut back staff and are looking shaky. Many other factors are linked to this but they were going gangbusters before they decided to expand and outsource, prices went up despite the ideology that cheaper manufacturing costs were on offer, profits declined, has this happened to the surf labels? Do the Americans know something we don't?
Mac, CMC read my post again about Corona. The same thing applies to the surf retail industry, most of the products that are sold are not high cost locally produced items. They can be sourced from outside of OZ for a fraction of what you'd pay here.
Another example,http://factory.dhgate.com/wetsuits/surfing-wetsuit-surfing-suit-p42184438.html
A GBS 4/3mm steamer for $30-$37 US dependent upon quantities ordered. And branded as you choose.
Fark me can you imagine how much it REALLY costs to make a set of fins? Yet people keep paying stupid prices. Get a set of H-3's send them here
factory.dhgate.com/surfing/surfboard-fins-p48255885.html
and say copy these, I'll have 500 sets. This is exactly what FCS, Rip Curl etc do.
If you guys are in this trade it is up to you to change the way you're doing business to make it profitable for yourselves.
Sure carry FCS, Ripcurl etc but use your knowledge of your trade to find your own products that you can SELL to your customers. And sell is in capitals there because YOU will NEED to sell them. Not just stick them in your shop and expect them to walk out the door. This is what retail is all about. Train your staff, offer them incentives to push the products that you make margin on rather than just letting your customers walk out with the big brands, who decide how much you will make off a sale.
Put pressure on your suppliers, source their products from overseas wholesalers at lesser margin, and make more yourself. If they don't like it tell them to match your overseas price. This is exactly what Coles & Woolies did to Fosters with Corona and many other brands.
Pricing is flexible, believe it or not, these companies want you to sell their products. Make them work for your business.
Put it this way as a manufacture for 20 odd years employing over a hundred locals,imports smashed us,now I am a importer same industry and only employ 4.
Not good for the unemployment line.
If you're selling the same product as the imports, the price should be similar. If you want to name your own price, differentiate somehow. E.g. Seventhwave wetsuits, or Japanese custom wetsuits, or Patagucci wetsuits, or Matuse, or Hotline, or Buell. Or e.g. with the newest board I've got, the guy sells at a (very) premium price but his product is very far removed from the average popout, and he's got so many orders he barely has time to surf any more. CMC would know him by (online) reputation. Differentiate and survive. Provide nothing more than a higher price, and sink.
At the end of the day, the industry giants are in it for the money...The product being sold here for $600 or $300 in the US, costs them the same and all come from the same factory...A 20ft container sailed to Oz or US from Thailand doesn't cost that much, when you break it up into the unit cost of each suit being transported...They're having a lend nothing else to it...
They need to revise their RRP formula for Oz. With today's stronger AU$, they need to revise the pricing and encourage sales in Oz as oppose to encouraging international purchases.
If they're not having a lend, then can someone please explain why I can purchase a wetsuit from the US, after it was manufactured and shipped from Thailand to the US, handled/stored/transported until it reaches it's destination, a surf shop; whether it's on consignment or purchased by the retailer. I then access the shops internet store and buy it, the guy packages it and is picked up by a courrier. It is then airfreighted and arrives in 5 days to Australia. After all that, the suit still ends up around 43% cheaper than a suit shipped from Thailand to Australia, handled/stored/transported until it arrives at trendy surf shop and it stays there, hanging on a rack and will most likely end up selling at the end of season for half price. And they are still making profit even on the sale price. If that's not a rip off then I please enlighten me.
300-500% profit margins (based on unit costs ex works) on some retail items aren't abnormal...
Disco the reason we get shafted so badly in Oz is simply a numbers game. It all comes down to population and in the world scheme the Oz market is a drop of piss in the ocean.
True True...It's really ironic, that as a result or our economy/population/market positioning, most retail prices compared to the rest of the world are driven up. However, because of our economy we are able to purchase products over seas for a lot less. But at the end of the day we're pissing in a pond which is our retail industry, and eventually were going to stink it out, which again reflects on our economy. A vicious cycle.
In the whole scheme of things, whinging about wetsuit prices or what ever it may be is still nothing compared to some of the daily struggle of others!
If this is all we have to worry about, we're doing pretty bloody good...
I hear houses are going cheap in the US too? I wonder how much freight will be???
yeah coastal 2 storey 4bed x 2 bath did i mention as ocean in ya front yard 100k what can we get in outer bum@#@# asbestos 1 bed 1 bath 1 squatter family for 100k....with freight still cheaper than here
if only we ALL had shares in miining companies eh
coz apparantly prices in WA wise we do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
got me a cheap ebomb from US recently from @#@$#@.com EBAY
cant pay 500+ for a 200+ wettie no matter how patriotic of flush with mining money!
jeez even the miners are sourcing cheap overseas labor and product eh!
