Brooks saddle pricing

Being the cheeky one I am I asked a few places to price match SJS on a Brooks as I want to use paypal. Got an interesting response from one company explaining they have been instructed by the UK distributor not to offer any discounts on any Brooks products. Even though this is illegal.

there is no need to discount brooks saddles. before they were taken over they produced 40,000 a year, now they make 140,000 and have the staff working saturdays why discount when you can sell all you make? no point outsourcing to cheaper(overseas) manufacture as you devalue the core brand values. if anything they should put their prices up.
what they are doing is no different from specialized, they do not do discounting as they don't need to.

well said

I'm not talking about Brooks lowering their prices. I'm talking about retailers having the option to compete on price without fear of retribution from the distributor.

Margins aren't as great as you might think. There's not a large amount for the retails to play with for a price war, and they'd only be hurting themselves to do so.

Besides, as pointed out, Brooks are running at capacity... which means that as a shop you are only going to receive X number of saddles. If you reduce the price you're just going to be out of stock and have made less money... everyone else will still be in stock and selling them for the higher price.

Hey I agree that Brook's saddle are great- that's why I want one. If it's true Brooks are running at capacity, and as a shop you cannot increase the amount of saddles you order then yep your right velocio.

You may be right about the price war being damaging too, but surely there is no need for (illegal) pressure from the distributor to prevent discounting if in a free mkt there wouldn't be any anyway?
I was more alarmed by what appeared to be anti-competitive trading behaviour from a major mark, than actual pricing.

Anyway,it was just something I found mildly interesting in an otherwise dreary day. Nothing to get worked up about.

it's not a cartel though. if there were 3 leather saddle manufacturers all producing similar products then it would be illegal to price fix between them. but brooks don't really have any competition

I highly doubt that there is anything suspect going on. Whomever told you they were not supposed to offer discounts was probably using that as a line to stop you from trying to haggle. All companies give stockists a RRP.. including Brooks, but its a guide as far as I understand.

My understanding was that Brooks would sell to the retailers at whatever price they choose, but then legally the retailers should be free to choose what price to sell the good on to the consumer. So price fixing by telling the retailer they are not allowed to discount below the rrp would be unlawful.

I may be wrong though and accept that this probably occurs for many, many products not just in this case.

(Jacqui the problem wasn't the rrp - but that there was pressure on the retailer not to sell below it)

I don't mean to bash Brooks though, so I'll stop!

maybe the retailer can do what they like but the next time they put an order in? "sorry out of stock" brooks do not have to sell to them if they don't want to which isn't illegal.

who knows...
i didn't think you were bashing brooks..did you?

well..I'm not sure about being illegal not allowing resellers to make discounts. price is one of the basis of a good marketing strategy.

brooks cannot allow resellers to lower the price on their saddles as much as they want...they have a profit margin (the resellers) and the price brooks defined for their products includes that margin.

Nothing to get worked up about.

This isn't a familiar concept on here.

This isn't a familiar concept on here.

Arf!

Having sold Brooks saddles/products at an IBD for a while now I know selling against online retailers that undercut prices is a big problem. Most independents would buy at a trade cost that would probably allow for somewhere between 30-40% margin depending on their rate, based on quantity etc etc. Obviosuly retailers are free to offer whatever discount they want on the products (we typically offer £2-3 off rrp on cheaper models and £5-10 off on more expensive ones) in an effort to maintain competitiveness, especially against bigger chains and web-based sellers.

However, I think the retailer in this instance is more wary of price-matching against SJS, which are notorious for discounting heavily to a point where other shops can never seriosuly hope to compete. This goes for many big online sellers, who buy in far greater bulk and operate with much lower overheads, allowing to sell much cheaper and maintain a smaller margin. For instance, there was a certain online retailer underselling the new B17 Imperial by as much as £20 under rrp when it was launched earlier in the year, something that we could never hope to match given our margain on the product. I can certainly understand the retailer (and even the distibutor) trying to keep the price and margins reasonable and I don't think it should be seen as price fixing. Indeed, this is a good thing as it shows the distributor trying to work in favour - or at least for the benefit - of independents rather than just trying to make the most profit. This happens a lot in the bike industry, the best and most recent example was another online retailer, - who shall remain nameless, selling Dahon folding bikes at 39% below rrp!

discounting de-bases a brand, it is a start of a spiral down, and will eventually mean brooks lower the quality of the saddle, shut up, pay up and enjoy !

discounting de-bases a brand

They've done their work well on you eh?!

its not at all illegal. a company can choose to supply or not supply to another company. if they feel that one of their suppliers is debasing the brand image, they decide to not supply to that company in the future.

likewise, if want to buy a quality saddle that was handmade in england and will last you for years, you can -- but should be prepared to pay a bit of a premium for it. conversely, if you're looking for a cheap saddle, you will find plenty of options.

free market economics. simple, eh?

From Consumer Advice

By law, a retailer is entitled to decide the price he wants to charge for his goods.

The price on display is simply what the law calls an 'invitation to treat'. In the same way that you don't have to buy goods from anyone, a retailer is under no obligation to sell you anything.

You cannot insist that a shop sells you anything at a marked price, even if they have made a mistake.

The law does not allow prices to be fixed and, contrary to common belief, goods are not subject to price controls.

What are RRP and MRRP?

The recommended retail price (RRP) and manufacturer's recommended retail price (MRRP) are suggested prices or price guidelines. Retailers can undercut these prices if they wish, so you should shop around for a bargain.

Surely not allowing discounting is the opposite of a free market.

Oh, and I have already bought a Brooks.

Joe1983, without wishing to get caught in the moral cross-fire, where did you get your Brooks from in the end?