American Fashion - a global corporate rip off culture!
http://bestfashion.org/articles/38/1/American-Fashion---a-global-corporate-rip-off-culture/Page1.html
Chris Odell
Chris Odell is a partner at 
By Chris Odell
Published on 04/2/2008
Last week I had a short vacation to New York with a friend and we splashed out in all the big name stores and had a whale of a time. In the midst of all the chaos of that weekend I managed to remember my partner, in particular a selection of jeans they were after and the massive showcase Abercrombie and Fitch store. I was bowled over by the prices, they were incredibly low. Now I understand that with the healthy exchange rate of UK Sterling to the US Dollar I had a distinct advantage when it came to the power of my British purse. But I was in for a shock.
I 'm Christina, I'm Paul Baines' partner, and I am not one to rant. This as you may tell is my first foray into
writing articles, so for those demanding more eloquence, let's treat
this as a warning. Simple as that.
My partner runs a t-shirt store online. He designs the prints, he runs the site, he sells the shirts. Of course he shows preference to UK customers (that is where we are based) by offering free UK postage and packing, but he knows his territory, and would never consider pushing it further without losing the chance of a global market.
So why am I telling you this? Last week I had a short vacation to New York with a girlie friend and we splashed out in all the big name stores and had a whale of a time. In the midst of all the chaos of that weekend I managed to remember my partner, in particular a selection of jeans he was after and the massive showcase Abercrombie and Fitch store. I was bowled over by the prices, they were incredibly low. Now I understand that with the healthy exchange rate of UK Sterling to the US Dollar I had a distinct advantage when it came to the power of my British purse. But I was in for a shock.
Abercrombie and Fitch (and I am sure they are not alone in this sneaky and rather underhanded pricing strategy) have for some obscure reason decided to charge exactly the same in UK Sterling and they would do with US Dollars in America.
Which essentially means that for those Brits and probably Europeans who cannot afford to constantly pop over to the USA, a nasty comparison for you to savour.
If a pair of jeans sell for $80USD in the USA then you can bet your bottom dollar that Abercrombie and Fitch will charge you £80 UK Pound Sterling for the same jeans!
Yes I know, it's totally outrageous. In fact it is insulting to the intelligence of all global buyers of A&F products. Essentially if you live in the UK you will be expected to pay double what you do in the USA. Hang on a minute, isn't the UK Pound Sterling around double the USD right now? This means you are paying $160 USD for the same pair of jeans? I don't know what on earth could justify such a price hike, import taxes and shipping costs couldn't cover a third of that hike. Essentially there is a global con going on right now and most consumers however savvy they may believe they are, dashing in and out for sales and hunting down bargains, if you buy nationally right now, I'm afraid you are throwing your money down the drain.
My partner is at a disadvantage at the moment, he is at the other end of the exchange rate and his prices seem rather steep for the USA, however the UK Pound Sterling has fallen by almost 20% against the Euro since this time last year. So fortunately he is able to expand in Europe. However these are legitimate business practices, doing as best and as fairly as you can with each and every customer nationality.
Isn't it about time we - the consumer - had a 'real' global market? One where all companies can compete fairly, and where the consumer can know the true price of the products they buy?
I have a terrible feeling there are many many companies out there doing this, I will be researching it further as I can spare the time. However I invite anyone to add their own examples to the list of rip-off corporate companies out there.
To all major corporates concerned, understand we are not blind, we are not fools, as it has happened in the media (the continual collapse of traditional media and rise of user generated content), I truly believe that business will soon undergo the same dramatic change.
If I could find a local designer who charged the same or less for as good quality clothes I would now be very very tempted to buy!
My partner runs a t-shirt store online. He designs the prints, he runs the site, he sells the shirts. Of course he shows preference to UK customers (that is where we are based) by offering free UK postage and packing, but he knows his territory, and would never consider pushing it further without losing the chance of a global market.
So why am I telling you this? Last week I had a short vacation to New York with a girlie friend and we splashed out in all the big name stores and had a whale of a time. In the midst of all the chaos of that weekend I managed to remember my partner, in particular a selection of jeans he was after and the massive showcase Abercrombie and Fitch store. I was bowled over by the prices, they were incredibly low. Now I understand that with the healthy exchange rate of UK Sterling to the US Dollar I had a distinct advantage when it came to the power of my British purse. But I was in for a shock.
Abercrombie and Fitch (and I am sure they are not alone in this sneaky and rather underhanded pricing strategy) have for some obscure reason decided to charge exactly the same in UK Sterling and they would do with US Dollars in America.
Which essentially means that for those Brits and probably Europeans who cannot afford to constantly pop over to the USA, a nasty comparison for you to savour.
If a pair of jeans sell for $80USD in the USA then you can bet your bottom dollar that Abercrombie and Fitch will charge you £80 UK Pound Sterling for the same jeans!
Yes I know, it's totally outrageous. In fact it is insulting to the intelligence of all global buyers of A&F products. Essentially if you live in the UK you will be expected to pay double what you do in the USA. Hang on a minute, isn't the UK Pound Sterling around double the USD right now? This means you are paying $160 USD for the same pair of jeans? I don't know what on earth could justify such a price hike, import taxes and shipping costs couldn't cover a third of that hike. Essentially there is a global con going on right now and most consumers however savvy they may believe they are, dashing in and out for sales and hunting down bargains, if you buy nationally right now, I'm afraid you are throwing your money down the drain.
My partner is at a disadvantage at the moment, he is at the other end of the exchange rate and his prices seem rather steep for the USA, however the UK Pound Sterling has fallen by almost 20% against the Euro since this time last year. So fortunately he is able to expand in Europe. However these are legitimate business practices, doing as best and as fairly as you can with each and every customer nationality.
Isn't it about time we - the consumer - had a 'real' global market? One where all companies can compete fairly, and where the consumer can know the true price of the products they buy?
I have a terrible feeling there are many many companies out there doing this, I will be researching it further as I can spare the time. However I invite anyone to add their own examples to the list of rip-off corporate companies out there.
To all major corporates concerned, understand we are not blind, we are not fools, as it has happened in the media (the continual collapse of traditional media and rise of user generated content), I truly believe that business will soon undergo the same dramatic change.
If I could find a local designer who charged the same or less for as good quality clothes I would now be very very tempted to buy!