Fender Guitars Fined in UK

hmm, this seems to be the main reason:

"The CMA said the firm pressured retailers to sell its guitars at or above a minimum price between 2013 and 2018, meaning customers shopping around for the best deal found little difference in cost."

well, that's how all brands work. there is a MAP - minimum advertised price - that almost all music gear has. a $999 retail guitar will sell for $699 MAP typically. you can't advertise lower than that price, but you can sell below it if you want.

but why would anyone sell below it generally when the other stores are making that much as well. and depending on your shipping costs etc., you could make less than other stores at that MAP price anyway.

before the internet, we only had catalogs. some had prices, some didn't and you had to call the store. when the internet first started, to break through the crowd, some stores offered that $999 retail guitar for 649, or 599, or even lower. of course they'd steal the sale and become more popular with the customers.

so the industry almost as a whole implemented the MAP pricing to help ease this. other industries have MAP too.

interesting.
 
The business concept is "normal" and fair here in the USA. This protects the last vestiges of the Mom & Pop shops against larger "box stores" that have more buying power than the smaller independent shops. I understand that other countries view this matter differently and that the crime was committed and covered up. This will only serve to drive the price margins lower so that only the largest retail chains will represent the product...
 
The business concept is "normal" and fair here in the USA. This protects the last vestiges of the Mom & Pop shops against larger "box stores" that have more buying power than the smaller independent shops. I understand that other countries view this matter differently and that the crime was committed and covered up. This will only serve to drive the price margins lower so that only the largest retail chains will represent the product...
exactly. my small store might get 2x $999 guitars + shipping for $500 each. if map is $699, i'll make $199 for each guitar.

a large store with a ton of money might buy 20 of them and get a better cost, maybe $300 each. at $300, they could easily sell the guitar for $500.

a customer comes to my store to "shop local" and says he saw that big store advertised the guitar for $500. i say i can't do that, and they go to the big store to buy it. i lose a sale, but would have made $0 on it anyway. small stores aren't "ripping people off." they just don't have the buying power to get to end column on the price sheet.
 
exactly. my small store might get 2x $999 guitars + shipping for $500 each. if map is $699, i'll make $199 for each guitar.

a large store with a ton of money might buy 20 of them and get a better cost, maybe $300 each. at $300, they could easily sell the guitar for $500.

a customer comes to my store to "shop local" and says he saw that big store advertised the guitar for $500. i say i can't do that, and they go to the big store to buy it. i lose a sale, but would have made $0 on it anyway. small stores aren't "ripping people off." they just don't have the buying power to get to end column on the price sheet.


I've seen the buying power of the large stores. It's brutal what they can do to a manufacturer if they get sucked in by the distribution power and the lump sum sales. I think Rickenbacker is one of the few manufacturers that didn't discount their product to the large volume buyers.
 
This seems so counter intuitive. I own a small retail bike shop and we are a dying breed. Exactly what Chris said above. We can't compete with the buying power of the huge chains and they can crush the small guy by volume buying and volume discounting. The fact that the article says it's illegal to set and enforce a MAP pricing is crazy. It's a race to bottom if you don't.
 
This seems so counter intuitive. I own a small retail bike shop and we are a dying breed. Exactly what Chris said above. We can't compete with the buying power of the huge chains and they can crush the small guy by volume buying and volume discounting. The fact that the article says it's illegal to set and enforce a MAP pricing is crazy. It's a race to bottom if you don't.

If the big guys get to give more discounts and drive the smaller competition out, they will then be able to charge what they want. It seems small business everywhere is targeted for extinction. Easier to control and monitor the consolidated activities of the larger stores I suppose :rolleyes:
 
This seems so counter intuitive. I own a small retail bike shop and we are a dying breed. Exactly what Chris said above. We can't compete with the buying power of the huge chains and they can crush the small guy by volume buying and volume discounting. The fact that the article says it's illegal to set and enforce a MAP pricing is crazy. It's a race to bottom if you don't.
Jimmy is that you? Lol
 
Meh, it's MAP pricing... whatever. I thought price fixing was when two or more competitors were in cahoots to keep prices up. (See: lightbulbs.) I'd never buy another Fender product because the last two fender guitar amps in my house spent more time on the warranty repair bench than they did in the jam room.
 
In the UK we have different laws, is that so shocking?

Our consumer protection laws prevent manufacturers setting prices in this way, ok there are other ways they can do this (Apple supply product at such a high unit price/low margin for example) - but just because it's different doesn't mean it's wrong.

Given the reports of Guitar 'Stores' (shops to me) closing in the US, the MAP system doesn't seem to be working so well either
 
I have no issues with Fender and will gladly buy Fender again. MSRP, MAP, etc., are well established in the US and have never prevented finding a deal, for me at least.

The UK and their nanny state is another matter and I will look for other options instead of buying anything originated or supporting of their corrupt regime.
 
I have no issues with Fender and will gladly buy Fender again. MSRP, MAP, etc., are well established in the US and have never prevented finding a deal, for me at least.

The UK and their nanny state is another matter and I will look for other options instead of buying anything originated or supporting of their corrupt regime.


Are you being deliberately offensive?
 
The business concept is "normal" and fair here in the USA. This protects the last vestiges of the Mom & Pop shops against larger "box stores" that have more buying power than the smaller independent shops. I understand that other countries view this matter differently and that the crime was committed and covered up. This will only serve to drive the price margins lower so that only the largest retail chains will represent the product...
I suppose I hadn't considered this.
 
Given the reports of Guitar 'Stores' (shops to me) closing in the US, the MAP system doesn't seem to be working so well either

Yes, megachains like Guitar Center cannot undercut local shops (shops to me as well, wtf? Are you being deliberately offensive?) due to MAP and they are closing because they cannot reap major profits. Boohoo. Local shops, at least in my area, seem to be doing well because MAP affords them protections that didn't always exist. Walmart comes in to an area and all the local shop-err-stores close because they cannot afford to sell at zero or loss of profit. Best Buy destroyed local electronics stores. There are many cases of major business crushing local competition because they could afford to operate at a loss until there was nobody else left. Fender (and many others in many industries) recognized the importance and value of shopping local and created MAP.

Local outdoor and fitness shops in my area -dammit I'm American, I must say store!- are thriving next to REI because of MAP.

My wife's apparel company can successfully compete with AMAZON -on their own storefront/shopfront?- because of MAP pricing on trademarked shirts.

I find it unfortunate that Fender is being fined so significantly for something that was intended to protect the little guy. I don't doubt they knew it was illegal in England and did it anyway and do deserve a fine of some sort, but the largest ever?
 
Yes, megachains like Guitar Center cannot undercut local shops (shops to me as well, wtf? Are you being deliberately offensive?) due to MAP and they are closing because they cannot reap major profits. Boohoo. Local shops, at least in my area, seem to be doing well because MAP affords them protections that didn't always exist. Walmart comes in to an area and all the local shop-err-stores close because they cannot afford to sell at zero or loss of profit. Best Buy destroyed local electronics stores. There are many cases of major business crushing local competition because they could afford to operate at a loss until there was nobody else left. Fender (and many others in many industries) recognized the importance and value of shopping local and created MAP.

Local outdoor and fitness shops in my area -dammit I'm American, I must say store!- are thriving next to REI because of MAP.

My wife's apparel company can successfully compete with AMAZON -on their own storefront/shopfront?- because of MAP pricing on trademarked shirts.

I find it unfortunate that Fender is being fined so significantly for something that was intended to protect the little guy. I don't doubt they knew it was illegal in England and did it anyway and do deserve a fine of some sort, but the largest ever?
Fender has marketing and finance people in each of their major markets. It’s highly unlikely that they didn’t know something that important.
 
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