Dear All,
I have read this thread and am happy to reply:
We at HARMAN technology make quality photo products, we also believe that our products are priced fairly and offer value for money all over the world. With the internet it is very easy to compare pricing around the world from the comfort of your own home. The difficulty and complexity of worldwide pricing are the factors that can and do build in differentials. The question to ask always is 'are you comparing apples with apples'?
I have seen some reference to some of these factors in the thread :
A) Changes in currency exchange rates
B) Cost and complexity of shipping : intercontinental / refrigerated / inter country and local ( who pays for what ?)
C) Import duties
D) National taxes and especially local / national sales taxes
E) Market specific products to meet local legislation
F) Market place practice ?
Example : In the USA historically, Tri-X was always sold by KODAK at a lower price than PLUS X : When we started exporting to the USA many years ago our HP and FP products obviously reflected that differential, it still exists to this day, in every other market in the world we sell HP and FP at the same price, hence the result 'a differential' on a local market anomaly.
What we can and do is to set prices ex.factory that are fair and equatable, if we were to try and 'adjust' pricing in each market so that no differentials existed we would need to change our prices every week, this is not practicle on over 2,000 products, nor would our distributors and resellers welcome having to adjust prices on their systems every week, as all price changes involve significant resource, database adjustments, websites etc, etc.
Just after a price increase, like we have just had, you may have some markets that sell through stock at the price related to what the stock was purchased at ( pre-increase ) and some who apply the increases as soon as they are notified. When prices are changed it also is the time that you would have the opportunity to correct some previous inherited differentials that had occurred.
Most important of all you cannot control the margins that distributors and resellers have to apply to to our products, and in most markets it is illegal to do so. Legislation rightly exists in most markets to protect competition on the sales of goods to ensure that the consumer gets the best value.
We are keenly aware that the ultimate sanction of any consumer is to choose whether to purchase a product from company A or company B and that is based on a raft of criteria where value for money is almost always taken into account, we are also aware that the internet and specialist suppliers have opened up routes where product flows from one country to another again that choice is open to the consumer.
People made reference to cameras and other products, our industry is not alone and of course we now live in a global market place. I am pretty sure that many American readers of this did not pay $ 9.72 per gallon when they filled up their car this morning as I did, ( our gallon is a little bigger ) and I am sure we have some Icelandic Apuggers and I am pretty sure he is paying three times what I will for a beer on the way home tonight.
We do realise how important this issue is, and we most certainly care when our customers are unhappy just as much as when they are happy. We always realise you have a choice, we always listen, we hopefully engage, and we try the very best to maintain and grow our reputation.
Simon Galley ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology LImited :