Re: New kit : Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:41 pm
The kits are great IMO. These are the best kits we have had in ages.I don't care what the replicas look like as I don't buy replicas anyway but sounds like the club is being smart by using the collars to differentiate the products so they can charge different prices. The club wants to be able to identify who the rich customers are and charge them a higher price. But they can't ask people when they walk into the shop who is rich and who isn't. So they produce two pretty much identical products differentiated by a subtle detail (in this case the collar), that will matter enough to customers to make sure they all accept one product as being superior to the other. Then the fans that are richer and bothered enough about the small detail then reveal themselves by choosing the superior product so the club can charge them the higher price. The fans that don't have the same disposable income and don't care so much buy the inferior product with the collar on. If they don't value the inferior product enough to pay the price it's priced at they won't buy it.
If the club has priced the one with the collar too high then they will lose out because people won't buy it but as long as they buy it then the strategy makes sense, even if customers complain about it on the internet.
If you just had one shirt priced the same then you're missing out on the potential income you can get by exploiting the fact some will be willing to pay more for it so buy issuing two versions you increase profits by making those customers reveal their higher willingness to pay by choosing the more expensive shirt.
All sounds sensible to me.