UKC

I've just been into a store in Chamonix and saw La Sportiva Batura boots on sale for 438€. Looking at Cotswolds outdoor they are selling for over 500£. Thats 670€ Why the enormous difference.

In reply to goatee:

Probably because there's a few more retail outlets selling high mountain boots in the Alps than there are in the Cotswolds, and so a bit more competition.

Just saying...

In reply to goatee:

Also, I sometimes think that a lot of Cotswold's prices have to take into account the vast number of people that they offer discounts to.

In reply to Luke90:

I was going to mention that too. The no quibble 15% for BMC members redresses the balance quite a bit.

In reply to Luke90:

Agreed that they will take account of the discount but even at 15% there is a big difference.

In reply to goatee:
When you say 'on sale for' do you mean reduced to, or just at that price normally?

In reply to JayPee630:

Normal price.

In reply to goatee:

I always find cotswold way over priced. I try my very hardest not to shop there after a few bad experiences. Can't stand the place

In reply to goatee:

It's probably easier to shift a pair of specialist boots in Chamonix than in the UK so they can afford to take a smaller margin without risking having old stock sitting around for years.

In reply to goatee:

And when Cotswold ordered the boots the pound was almost certainly at a different rate to the Euro. Like 25% different.

In reply to goatee:

There's no pressure for the prices to match unless a consumer can choose equally from each supplier, which they can only do if the suppliers will deliver at minimal cost.

That said, sometimes consumers simply don't shop around. I've seen Outside sell several of their Snap bouldering mats despite the fact that in the UK you can order direct from Snap and have it delivered to your door at about 20% less ( Example - Outside sells a Grand Wrap pad at £325, direct from Snap it's 349 EUR = £259 inc delivery at current exchange rates. )

In reply to goatee:
As someone who runs a small business I'm in 2 minds about this.
In this instance Cotswold are stocking a fairly specialist, high value, low sales volume piece of gear. This allows people to see/feel/try the boots on so they are performing a service. As such they need to make enough of a margin to cover not just this, but also risk of being left with obsolete stock at end of season or when next model comes along. This situation is very different to a shop in Chamonix.

On the other hand, I always try and get a good deal and, if you google you will find better prices in UK and also from eg German suppliers who ship to UK. But, where will you try on the boots first, Cotswold maybe?

Not sure about Cotswold but Snow and Rock do a European price match. That way you can try on the boots at the shop then use the price match to get the best deal; that way the shop who has helped you still gets the sale.

I don't feel Cotswold is specially expensive but I get a BMC 15%. anyway.

In reply to goatee:

Shhh don't tell everyone, gear is way cheaper here in France than in the UK... especially DMM for some reason.

In reply to goatee:

S**t, please can we try to keep this under the radar, the Euro shops for some unknown reason haven't sussed out the power of GBP.
So for us who have the advantage of buying abroad, its a steal at the moment especially if you can wangle a discount in Euro land as well.
Just enjoy the exchange rate whilst it lasts, you can almost justify buying beer again in Chamonix!

In reply to goatee:

Other factors, apart from those already mentioned, are the big differences in operating costs in UK and some other parts of Europe, particularly rental of premises and business rates.

About 10 years ago the last independent outdoor retailer in my town had to shut up shop. His rent had just been hiked from £50,000 a year to £100,000 a year by the freeholder. This was for quite a modest-sized shop (usually run with 2 or max 3 staff on duty, maybe 50 ft x 24 ft ground floor, plus 35 ft x 24 ft 1st floor.

And his business rates (10 years ago, remember) were £15,000 per year.

So his base-level rent-and-rates only cost, before paying for electricity, staff, insurance, etc, was over £2,200 per week, for a shop some way away from the central part of the shopping area. That meant shifting enough stock, week in week out, to generate about £5,000 income BEFORE even starting to cover his other costs.

He was "getting by" before the rent hike, but afterwards just couldn't hold on. Since then the building's been a restaurant (twice) and is now a betting shop.

Talking to people in business in France, retail units are often actually owned by the business, and if not the rental is a fraction of what they'd pay in UK. I don't know about the equivalent of business rates, but suspect they'd be lower.

It is a good argument. And not just rental price, but also payrolls - in UK it may be the the biggest expense for small businesses.

On other hand property prices and rentals in Cham are very hight as well. Fort Williams is cheap compared to Cham.

In reply to goatee:

I'm not sure why you are shocked by this ? its nowhere near as shocking as the difference the other way on, say, beer.

In reply to nutme:


I'm not sure about that. When Subway in Ft William closed down in 2011 they were paying over £50,000 a year in rent. Thornton's was paying £26,000....same as they'd have paid for a similar size premises in Princes St, Edinburgh. I know the *accommodation* rental prices in Cham are a lot higher than in Ft William, but knowing what business/shop rental costs are in other parts of France, I'd be surprised if they were more expensive, by the square metre, in Cham than in Ft William.

In reply to goatee:

Cotswold have a price match policy...they will match any price so long as it includes import tax, shipping etc. I did this to get Baturas at a very reasonable price.