Survey on Australia - Price Maintenance/Price Fixing

[researchpaper1]

Good Day

I am an economics student and I am doing a research paper on resale price maintenance (RPM). In 2015, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) authorised RPM in Australia for Tooltechnic which distributes Festool products. This allowed Tooltechnic to set a minimum resale price which prevented its dealers/distributors from selling Festool products below the specified price. I am using the Tooltechnic case as the subject of my paper studying the effects of price fixing on the market. I would appreciate if any Australian dealers in this group can assist me with data for my paper by providing answers for the following:

Prior to the ACCC authorising resale price maintenance on Festool products in 2015:

1. Did you shop around for the lowest price for your Festool product?
2. Was service level more important, less important or just as important as price?
3. Were  there other similar power tools within the same price range as Festool products?
4. Was the service level by other brands similar to, worse than or better than Festool products?

After the ACCC allowed resale price maintenance, please indicate the following:

1. Were the price increases in Festool products since 2015/2016 normal price increases or more excessive than before resale price maintenance was allowed?
2. Were there comparable price increases by other brands of power tools similar to Festool? If you have specific examples, please provide.
3. Did Festool stores/websites provide better service after price fixing was allowed?
4. Did other brands e.g. Hilti Fein, etc. improve their service since 2015/2016?
5. Did the price increase result in you buying other brands which were cheaper?

Please provide additional comments on the topic if you have them. Any comments regarding changes in quantity sold, price changes, service level changes, how it has impacted profit margins, etc. would be helpful. You can also private message me. Thank you.

 

[Stephen B]

PM me with the name and faculty of your University and I may provide a response in private.

 

[aloysius]

Do the same with me & I might very well be willing to share my own experience too.

 

[ChuckM]

Those of you who are willing to respond to the OP's request for help are honorable people. Many students need access to corporate information to do their research papers, but a lot of potential sources of such information are reluctant to give a hand. Kudos to you both for helping a stranger.

 

[researchpaper1]

Thanks. I will PM you.

 

[peter halle]

To the OP I would suggest that you won't get much if any information here from an Australian Festool Dealer - which is what you asked for.  You might get comments from users but their input will not be what you asked for.

Honestly your best way to get info from AUS dealers is to contact them directly.  This link might help:  https://www.festool.com.au/where-to-buy/find-your-nearest-dealer

Please note that the dealers listed below the map don't seem to indicate all the AUS dealers.  If you use the map I think you will get more contacts.

Wishing you well on your research and I hope that this helps.

Peter Halle - Moderator

 

[aloysius]

F/T Oz ditched a proportion of their "traditional" dealer & repair network subsequent to being granted their unique immunity or exemption from prosecution for Resale Price Maintenance.

I suspect that this network of "ex" dealers & repairers would be more candid with their survey responses, having little further to risk from punitive or spiteful actions.

 

[Grakat]

Hi there,

Have a look on the ACCC website, as TTS have just applied recently to renew their price fixing deal, and add Fein tools to the equation. There are submissions from different parties on the website, including from members of the FOG.

Some members are no longer able to discuss matters further due to conflicts of interest.

In a nutshell the price fixing deal was supposed to give us better service but it does not compare with other locations around the world for service. Of interest is that TTS was previously prosecuted for price fixing but then was allowed to subsequently price fix.

If you want to know any more please PM.

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi,

Very interesting documents, thanks for the "hint"

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[demographic]

I was recently talking to a bloke who used to be a Festool dealer in the UK, one thing he said to me smacked of sharp business practices on behalf of Festool UK

He got a phonecall from a one of his customers asking why he had given the customers details to another Festool dealer who had just opened up in the county, he replied that he had done no such thing (he would have to be pretty stupid to do so, you don't give the competition your customer base details as its financial suicide) and the customer said where else would it have come from?

Anyway, he got in touch with Festool Uk about the matter saying it was obviously them that gave the details away who when pressed admitted it.

I assume thats happened before but I wouldn't trust anyone whop did that to me.
He never mentioned actual names of the Festool people responsible but that really doesn't engender trust does it?

Since then both he and the new dealer have stopped dealing in Festool tools so my only way of getting them (without driving a long way and wasting a day doing it) is over the net, which kind of shows that mega dealer support network thing to be not that important to me anyway.

Lets face it, they are tools and if I'm baffled about how some aspect of them works I come on this forum and find out.
Its not rocket science.

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi,

please don't take this the wrong way and I really & honestly mean it very respectfully:

He said/she said hearsay on such a severe accusation shouldn't be spread unless it's a proven fact. And if you personally take issue with it, I suggest you talk to Festool UK either directly or via [member=41214]Phil Beckley[/member] - I'm sure they will take a complaint like that very seriously and look into it - however pretty sure not publicly.

I'm not saying it didn't happen, I'm not saying it happened. But I think this should be between the affected parties only.

Please remember that this type of severe, but for now (and most of us) unverifiable, accusations made online have impact on people's/company's real life.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[demographic]

I don't really have a dog in this fight, couldn't care less either way but in every single dealing I've had with the bloke he's been and seemed dead straight.
Plus what does he stand to gain by making it up? He's not even a Festool dealer anymore.

Personally I know there's quite a few contractors/subcontractors who would buy Festool saws instead of Makita if they were closer in price, thats tradesmen, not dentists/lawyers whatever. These are people who use them day in day out and have worked alongside me with them.

I only bought my first TS55 because it was only thirty quid more than the equivalent Makita but then I already had the rails so bought an HKC55 as well, they can keep their drills though, not so fussed by them as I don't see them as a game changer like their saws are.

I'm really not convinced by the argument laid out in that Australian site mentioned above. Yeah some training can be handy for the little tricks but most of the guys I work with already use powertools every day and the downloadable supplemental manuals cover a lot of ground.
Can't see me driving a hundred miles so someone can tell me what I can read on here. Its just not happening.

 

[peter halle]

Whereas in six days there hasn't been a single post from an Australian dealer (which was contact group the OP was trying to reach) and also whereas the how to contact the OP is clearly in the opening post in case any Australian dealers wish to participate and whereas this thread is now gravitating towards opinions and thoughts of non-dealers, I am going to lock this thread to preserve as best the initial request.

Australian members have posted their thought about the non-discounting situation in other threads and I would encourage them to do so again in the Aussie thread if they so desire.

This is not about censorship, rather it is about keeping the thread relevant to the original request.

Peter Halle - Moderator