Brighton (Leegin) Price Fixing???
Sunday, August 24th, 2008I was really pulled into a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about price fixing. Now you may know that this supposedly outlawed way back in 1911. But with a recent ruling by the US Supreme Court ruling involving a small Dallas retailer called Kay’s Kloset, it is all set to change (again??). Price fixing is back.
It seems that Leegin cut off Kay’s Kloset for discounting (probably Brighton Purses). Of course Kay’s parent company sued. But, now the surprise - the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Leegin! Quickly, Nine West jumped on the band wagon and petitioned to reinstate pricing agreements with it’s retailers.
Wow! This is serious business. My family had retail gift stores for years and we were constantly on one side or the other of this debate - either mad at the store down the street (or on the internet) for discounting - OR - wishing we could discount when lines didn’t sell as well in our area or when it seemed like EVERYONE else was doing it.
Let’s all keep an eye on this to see if it becomes a trend as manufacturers aim to “maintain a premium brand” position or desire to protect the retailers who are commited to providing a high degree of service, product depth, and availability for the retail consumer.
Price-Fixing Makes Comeback
Submitted: Aug 17, 2008 - Manufacturers are embracing broad new legal powers that amount to a type of price-fixing — enabling them to set minimum prices on their products and force retailers to refrain from discounting.