I was a little surprised to see that Filofax have reintroduced the Osterley model to their range. It was last seen for sale in 2013/2014 at a price of £125.00 for the Personal Compact Model. Todays price is quite a lot higher at £285.00 <gulp>!
Why the massive price rise? I've not asked Filofax UK for any reasons, but could it be that they have been watching the market and realised that their products could sell for much higher prices in todays market?
Look at the market these days, let's just take a snap shot of what you pay and what you get at different price points... I'm picking out brands I'm familiar with this is not exhaustive.
At the bottom end of the scale we have Moterm. You can get a regular personal size in 'Croco' finish leather for £41.02 including taxes and shipping!
Van der Spek have their 'ready to ship' Touch Me range. A standard (personal) size costs €139.15 or approximately £125 on todays exchange rate, plus shipping. There isn't a croco finish available at present in this range.
A Van der Spek Custom in Croco leather with gold rings currently costs €213.20 or approximately £193.00 plus shipping. I didn't do any additional customising on this sample on the web shop.
A Gillio Compagna Medium (Personal size) in Croco leather costs €325.48 or approximately £295.00 plus shipping.
So what is the difference between these various examples?
Moterm are manufactured in China and sold on Ali Express. Questions have been raised about the quality of the leather and the background of the company etc. The one example I bought from them to review seems reasonable in quality and I have no complaints about the organiser. How it will stand up to daily use etc I don't know, I've only had it a few weeks.
The Van der Spek Touch Me range are made from leather that Van der Spek buy from a French tannery, and then ship to a workshop that they set up in India to have the items made to their design.
Petra and her father visited the workshop to train the workers there and supplied the machinery. The quality of these organisers is very good, I have several in different sizes and they are great 'value for money'. They can take every day wear and tear very well.
The Van der Spek Custom range are made with leather sourced in Europe including Italy and then they are made to order at their own workshop in the Netherlands with their own staff that is small in number and dedicated with many years of experience.
Petra Van der Spek is the fourth generation in her family business established in 1926 to work in the leather goods industry. They pay a lot of attention to customer service and the quality of their individually hand finished products.
Gillio Firenze have their products made in batches in Italy from Italian leather, the items are shipped to Belgium to be quality checked and then sold world wide via their website. The costs of this set up are naturally higher than Van der Spek items.
The Gillio products are all made to a high standard and the materials are very high in quality. They have said they don't make make items from matching hides because of the increase in cost of doing that. You will see a variety of textures of leather in the different parts of the organiser were each part has been stamped out of a different hide with the 'clicking knives'
Where does this leave Filofax in this 'pecking' order. We don't know where the Osterley is made, but we can guess possibly China or India. The rings will come from Krause (the same as Gillio and Van der Spek) and the products will be made in large numbers and then sold through their distributors in Europe and USA etc.
Do you think the price hike is justified? Tell us in the comments.
Please note the prices were correct at the time of writing (18 December 2020). Prices in UK might change due to BREXIT at the end of 2020!
When comparing prices from 2014 to now (almost 2021....), 6 - 7 years later, there have been overall significant price increases in many consumer items.
ReplyDeleteMaterials, wages, benefit costs, shipping and delivery, insurance, etc, costs all typically go up at least a few % points every year. Shipping costs have gone way up the past few years.
So, it is what it is, if you want to stay in business. However, competition, will tend to counterbalance some of the forces that increase prices. Having someone like Moterm in the market, will and has diverted some customers from FF, vDS, and Gillio. Although some of those customers would likely not have purchased from vDS, Gillio anyway due to higher prices...
Just my 2 cents, as we say....
Happy Holidays,
Mark
OK compare the price of a Malden Personal size in 2014 to the price now.... I will do it for you... £76 now in 2020 £89 at full retail price...
DeleteDon't see price comparison between 2014 and the current price....
ReplyDeleteHowever, understand your point in the Malden example.
My guess is that Malden prices are held down either by competitive market forces or ability of FF to squeeze their overseas (?) suppliers costs or a bit of both.
OK try this comparison then... Gillio Amica price in July 2013 €213 including a diary insert and pen (price taken from my review in July 2013). Same size organiser now price €265 without the diary insert but still with a pen.
DeleteThe 'forces' of inflation seem to apply differently to Filofax models compared to other makes and models in their own range! All of those things you list would be applied across the board ?
I still have difficultly understanding how one model in their range can go from £76 to £89 whilst at the same time the Osterley has jumped from £125 to £285
May be it should be £185, not £285 !!!
Understand your points.....and they make sense....
DeleteWas just providing input from a typical 'business perspective' speculating on what might be driving the pricing.
Agree, that there is not consistent pricing logic across different vendors.
A lovely binder to bring back as it sings of high quality, as is the mini Malden in new colours as it is so unique. My opinion is that Filofax could broaden out far more with its range of planner sizes, including A6, and begin to offer a wider range of sizes and ring sizes across the ranges, including planner inserts. I was very disappointed with their clip book, ok, just meant to be a workaday workhorse notebook, but it lasted a matter of days before the rings mal-functioned and I returned it!! Krause rings in quality binders is the way to go in my opinion, so I am pleased to hear that this has Krause rings. Again, just my opinion, but Filofax need to tweak their market and decide are we aiming at middle of the road, or high quality, and I know that as with VDS that high quality of product, individualization and excellent customer service keeps a business thriving. Word of mouth still counts for a lot nowadays. I love the Osterley, but not in this size nowadays. The price seems a bit steep to me, but a sign of getting old maybe, when I say "HOW MUCH???" at a checkout!!! xxxxxxxx
ReplyDeleteI think that the price jump on the Osterley is extreme. It appears to me that Filofax is trying to move into the top end of the market, but without the customization options. Their marketing team needs to decide what section of the market they are aiming for. I am waiting for my Moterm A5 Luxe to arrive. It appears to be stuck in the shipping mess that is the United States these days.
ReplyDeleteHere´s another example of price development ;-)
ReplyDeleteJust bought a Winchester (red, almost mint condition!) for 160€ for crying out loud!!! 40 years ago, I could have bought it for just 40 GBP!!!
Stupid me...
Happy holidays
The price of the new FF Osterley compact is not justified at all. Possibly a mistake in perception what customers are willing to spend just for nostalgia. Despite the fact that I am a compact girl, I am not interested in this model and therefore the price does not appeal to me. But even if I was interested in this organiser, the price tag would send me off looking for alternatives.
ReplyDeleteAs someone in business, I understand the temptation to “test the market” to see what people will pay. They have probably only commissioned a small batch and can discount if they don’t sell. On the other hand, it is difficult to raise prices once a retail figure has been set. The mark-up on these Chinese binders is massive so, even if only a few are sold at full price, they are “quids in”. However, previous attempts at moving up-market haven’t been entirely successful. We all remember the Alice Temperley limited edition organisers that flopped at £399 each in 2012.
ReplyDeletehttps://philofaxy.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-limited-edition-temperley-london.html?m=1
I became a Filofax Collector when I realised that people were donating their Filofaxes to their local charity shops. I've only paid retail price on one Filofax - a personal Original ( only because my parents gave me some money on my 50th birthday and I wanted something special) I can't justify paying exorbitant prices for a planner. I just take my chances that I'll find a Filofax in a second hand shop.
ReplyDeleteI also do not think that the price increase is justified.
ReplyDeleteWhilst the Osterley was a nice model when previously sold, I just can't imagine that the quality of this current stock will be anywhere close to that of Van der Spek or Gillio.
However, like Tim has said, maybe they are testing the market further after releasing other more expensive ones, like the Chester.
Goodness me, just been to their website & they have another Osterley wrap around model for £355 (which reminds me of the violet from Alice Temperley).