Why aren't designer goods sold at discount in Ireland?

whizzbang

I was just wondering why you don't get decent design outlets in Ireland? How come you can get a polo shirt in the states for $25 but they cost €80 here?! Is there some EU law saying you have to get Polo's permission before importing and selling their stuff at a discount? Do these guys have locked down distributor networks so any cheap wholesalers you find are all knockoffs?

Anyone know?

Cheers!

J

Nuttzz

there is one centre in rathdowney, wasnt doing to well, they have decided to stick a dunnes in it to get higher footfall

why sell at a discount when the market will pay top price?

http://www.rathdowneyoutlet.ie/main.asp

whizzbang

Nuttzz wrote:

there is one centre in rathdowney, wasnt doing to well, they have decided to stick a dunnes in it to get higher footfall

why sell at a discount when the market will pay top price?

http://www.rathdowneyoutlet.ie/main.asp

hmm, I think their main issue was putting it in Rathdowney! its a bit out of the way!

As for why sell at a discount? Well, I think there is money to be made in a low cost designer goods supplier. With people being concerned about Ripp Off Ireland while still wanting to ware brand names, it seems like there is a big market for it!

With personal debt going through the roof I think people are going to start to looking for cheap goods while maintaining an appearance of wealth. A super cheap design store could be people's dirty little secret

or maybe we will just all continue to spend outselves into oblivion... who knows?

J

ronbyrne2005

in america theres more competition and the stuff thats discounted in america is not the latest designs and tends to be stuff which didnt sell well although there are some bargains

Nuttzz

whizzbang wrote:

hmm, I think their main issue was putting it in Rathdowney! its a bit out of the way!

same in the states, the designer outlets are all out of the cities

ButtermilkJack

whizzbang wrote:

I was just wondering why you don't get decent design outlets in Ireland?

Because we are all stupid enough to pay top price or it Why sell something for cheaper if people are willing to pay more?

I agree though, there definitely would be a market for it.

Nuttzz

there is a market for it, however the current distributors (BT etc) would resist this move, in the US/UK there are dedicated designer stores, i.e. Ralph Lauren has its own high street store and discount store however they dont have high street stores here, its easier to sell to the like of BT then it is setting up their own infrastructure here

Litcagral

whizzbang wrote:

hmm, I think their main issue was putting it in Rathdowney! its a bit out of the way!

J

AFAIK they choose Rathdowney originally because it was eqi-distance from Dublin, Cork, Galway etc. but I agree it's a bit out of the way. At least if it was on the main N9 there may be a better 'passing' trade. At the moment one is unlikely to divert at Abbeyleix while en route to Cork/Dublin.

As others have said - the market dictates prices not production costs. Why would they sell cheaper if the consumer is prepared to be ripped off?

whizzbang

Where I see people being ripped off I see an oportunity to make decent money and not rip them off!

As for discount stores selling old fashions or being out of town it seems to me that there is a market for selling in fashion high volume products at reasonible margins while giving people a decent price! I bought Lacoste polo shirts in Sao Paulo (In a Lacoste shop) for $30 give or take, these cost 75 euro here! I'm thinking buy them in Brazil, sell them here for 30/40 euro, you would sell tons!

The only problem I can see is that BT and co will tell people they are fake and try and get you in trouble with the law. How to convince people it is the same goods, just they are not being ripped off?!

I think some people like spending 80 euro on a t-shirt as it lets them show how wealthy /in debt they are!Would these people buy the shirtd fo 40 euro or would they stop buying them once lots more people were wearing them?

J

J

Nuttzz

tbh by the time your $30 shirt has been shipped, and had VAT (21%) and duty (circa 12%) charged and then your margin , you're not far off 60/70 euro

whizzbang

Nuttzz wrote:

tbh by the time your $30 shirt has been shipped, and had VAT (21%) and duty (circa 12%) charged and then your margin , you're not far off 60/70 euro

What if you send them from Brazil, less than 40 euro so customs won't bother, buy them for $15 there, pack and post them for a fiver, run it form an irish branded web site....

Is what I'm thinking...

J

ronbyrne2005

whizzbang wrote:

Where I see people being ripped off I see an oportunity to make decent money and not rip them off!

As for discount stores selling old fashions or being out of town it seems to me that there is a market for selling in fashion high volume products at reasonible margins while giving people a decent price! I bought Lacoste polo shirts in Sao Paulo (In a Lacoste shop) for $30 give or take, these cost 75 euro here! I'm thinking buy them in Brazil, sell them here for 30/40 euro, you would sell tons!

The only problem I can see is that BT and co will tell people they are fake and try and get you in trouble with the law. How to convince people it is the same goods, just they are not being ripped off?!

I think some people like spending 80 euro on a t-shirt as it lets them show how wealthy /in debt they are!Would these people buy the shirtd fo 40 euro or would they stop buying them once lots more people were wearing them?

J

J

if you buy them in brazil you face customs duties to bring them to ireland,then you need a store which if its in dublin costs a lot and you'll have high overheads.
the big designer label companies try to stop stores selling their products cheap as it devalues their brand which is designed to be expensive.in america they dont seem to be able to get away with this but in uk ireland europe they do for some legal reason i think,tesco tried to buy a load of levi's cheap in america and sell them in uk at big discount but they faced a load of probs.
the big designer labels would prefer to sell less but at a higher price through high price retailers such as BT as it maintains the prestige of their brand and they make the same levels of profit but the profit is more sustainable ,when you sell designer products in high volumes they loose their status as everyone can afford to wear them.

ronbyrne2005

ps; if people wanted to buy off a website they can already get lacoste or any brand cheap on ebay. you could buy in bulk on ebay and sell in a shop but not sure if it would be profitable,would have to do figures,if it was possible i think it would have been done,rathdowney doesnt seem succesful from what you say so i think its the consumers own fault

http://clothing.search.ebay.com/lacoste_W0QQa53ZQ2d24QQa54ZQ2d24QQa94ZQ2d24QQalistZa53Q2ca54Q2ca57Q2ca94Q2ca3801QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR2QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ3QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQgcsZ24QQpfidZ25QQpfmodeZ1QQsacatZQ2d100QQsbrsrtZl

Cantab.

People are really missing the point: There's no such thing as 'discounted designer goods'. Unless of course you want to look like last year's wannabe.

whizzbang

Cantab. wrote:

People are really missing the point: There's no such thing as 'discounted designer goods'. Unless of course you want to look like last year's wannabe.

hey, some peopel do, how many peopel really know the difference between this years and last years Polo shirt?

J

whizzbang

ronbyrne2005 wrote:

ps; if people wanted to buy off a website they can already get lacoste or any brand cheap on ebay. you could buy in bulk on ebay and sell in a shop but not sure if it would be profitable,would have to do figures,if it was possible i think it would have been done,rathdowney doesnt seem succesful from what you say so i think its the consumers own fault

http://clothing.search.ebay.com/lacoste_W0QQa53ZQ2d24QQa54ZQ2d24QQa94ZQ2d24QQalistZa53Q2ca54Q2ca57Q2ca94Q2ca3801QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR2QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ3QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQgcsZ24QQpfidZ25QQpfmodeZ1QQsacatZQ2d100QQsbrsrtZl

its a fair point, some people just don't mind paying "lazy tax" clearly.

J

Victor

I think its down to an EU decision that manufacturers / rights holders (Nike don't make their own shoes) have a right to control what price it is sold at.

whizzbang

Victor wrote:

I think its down to an EU decision that manufacturers / rights holders (Nike don't make their own shoes) have a right to control what price it is sold at.

That sounds about right, but isn't that just making a monopoly?

I think thats what happened to CDWOW as well? Sending CDs from Hong Kong and all that.

J

onedmc

There are a number of reason why this is the case. But the key factor is the size of the market space in Europe.

1) Big retailer have a significant hold on the market in Ireland and small retailers will not stock products that they know will be discounted.
--- Simply not enough large retailers that would be willing and able to sell off old stock ---- .

2) Margin, retailer need to make money and the gross margin on discount items could be as low as 25%. You need hugh volumes to work off those margins. And with some of the highest retail rents in Europe it dosn't make sence.

3) Current supplier provide products of similar quality at lower prices. Pennys and Dunnes are very strong in the budget market and would prove difficult to beat.

We will have more designer discount but only when europe consolidates more.

whizzbang

onedmc wrote:

There are a number of reason why this is the case. But the key factor is the size of the market space in Europe.

1) Big retailer have a significant hold on the market in Ireland and small retailers will not stock products that they know will be discounted.
--- Simply not enough large retailers that would be willing and able to sell off old stock ---- .

2) Margin, retailer need to make money and the gross margin on discount items could be as low as 25%. You need hugh volumes to work off those margins. And with some of the highest retail rents in Europe it dosn't make sence.

3) Current supplier provide products of similar quality at lower prices. Pennys and Dunnes are very strong in the budget market and would prove difficult to beat.

We will have more designer discount but only when europe consolidates more.

good points, I'm a big buyer of Dunnes stuff myself, the quality is fine and they last just as long as the designer stuff. I guess the real question is how can you cash in on people's lust for luxary brands without setting up a department store? Is there a smart way of reducing costs, thus lowering prices and snapping up some of the market? Are people willing to buy discount clothes from the net? They are more than willing to buy discount airfairs on it! Before Ryanair came along I'm sure lots of people said you couldn't fly London to Dublin for under £200 and make a profit! Are we currently in the same situation with other products/services? High Margin clothes is the closest I can think of... not exactly the same but some similarities.

J

onedmc

whizzbang wrote:

Is there a smart way of reducing costs, thus lowering prices and snapping up some of the market? Are people willing to buy discount clothes from the net?

.............They are more than willing to buy discount airfairs on it! Before Ryanair came along I'm sure lots of people said you couldn't fly London to Dublin for under £200 and make a profit! Are we currently in the same situation with other products/services? High Margin clothes is the closest I can think of... not exactly the same but some similarities.

J

The net is the way to go but in Ireland your up againts the same issue, - MARKET TOO SMALL, so you need to look at least at the UK and perhaps further.

To get people back to the same site you need to constantly change the stock and price. So you need the volume. To make real money you need to be very big - Like RyanAir

onedmc

Also the net is the place to sell the product before you have it. just like Ryanair, prior to them you didn't have to pay in full untill you got the ticket and then the agent had another 30 or 60 days to pay AerLingus.

If you can sell the product (and GET PAID) before you have to order it then your onto a winner - Gauranteed -

whizzbang

onedmc wrote:

Also the net is the place to sell the product before you have it. just like Ryanair, prior to them you didn't have to pay in full untill you got the ticket and then the agent had another 30 or 60 days to pay AerLingus.

If you can sell the product (and GET PAID) before you have to order it then your onto a winner - Gauranteed -

spot on...., althought if you are dealing with physical goods rather than advanced bookings it can be tricky getting the stuff to the customer in a reasonable time!

Sleepy

Eh, are people forgetting that TK Maxx are operating in Ireland? Any time I've been in there (or even any time I've passed one by) they always seem to be thronged.

whizzbang

Sleepy wrote:

Eh, are people forgetting that TK Maxx are operating in Ireland? Any time I've been in there (or even any time I've passed one by) they always seem to be thronged.

Good point, but I guess its always a gamble going there as you never know what you are going to get, also you have to dig through a pile of clothes to find anything decent.

Fair point that it is jammed though, guess there is a market for cheap designer gear after all!

Sleepy

Every discount designer store that I've been to is a gamble. I've been to a few on the continent and they're all basically just bigger, fancier versions of TK Maxx that have a mall with individual shops for each brand.

Victor

whizzbang wrote:

That sounds about right, but isn't that just making a monopoly?

Is it? Levi compete with Wrangler who compete with own brand. They are only controlling their own goods, no thte entire market.

Do you think you'll see Vodafone selling O2 minutes?

whizzbang

Victor wrote:

Is it? Levi compete with Wrangler who compete with own brand. They are only controlling their own goods, no thte entire market.

Do you think you'll see Vodafone selling O2 minutes?

Fair point, perhaps monopoly is not the right word, it does smack of being unfair though.